Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny. Deus Irae.
1976. NY: Dell Publishing, 1980.
- Pete tells to a girl named Turine why men got banned from the Garden of Eden.
“'How did man and God
get separated?' Like a child, she listened attentively, awaiting the
true tale.
Pete said cryptically, 'A quarrel so
old that the story is garbled. Somehow God set man up where He could
reach man daily, regularly; they were in direct touch, the way you
and I are now. But something happened and somehow they wound up like
Leibnitz's windowless monads, near each other but unable to perceive
anything outside; only able to scrutinize their own beings. A sort of
schizophrenia evidently set in, on the part of one of them or both;
autism—separation. And then man — '
'Man was driven out. Physically
away.'
Pete said, 'Evidently man did
something, or anyhow God thought he had. We don't know precisely what
it was. He was corrupted, anyhow, through nature or some natural
substance; something made by God and part of His creation. So man
sank out of direct contact and down to the level of mere creation.
And we have to make our way back.'” (43)
- During his pilgrimage, Tibor meets the Great C, a robot that has been built before Earth were destroyed by nukes (prewar). The robot is pretty talkative and serves as a witness of the past before the apocalypse.
“'You know,' the Great C said, 'I
have existed a long time. I remember life before the Smash. I could
tell you many things about it. Life was much different then. You wear
a beard and hunt animals in the woods. Before the Smash there were no
woods. Only cities and farms. And men were clean-shaven. Many of them
wore white clothing, then. They were scientists. They were very fine.
I was constructed by engineers; they were a form of scientist.' She
paused. 'Do you recognize the name Einstein? Albert Einstein?''”
(100)
- Tibor is still on his pilgrimage. He meets a very interesting kind of bird
The bird sang words, now. Brighten
up the corner, it called. Again it sang the few words, and then
thrilled out, Praise him from whom the wing and trees, the rocks
and thank you. Tweet, toddle. It started from the beginning
again, tracing each previous outburst.
A meta-mutant bird, he realized. A teilhard de chardin: forward oddity. . . .” (125)
A meta-mutant bird, he realized. A teilhard de chardin: forward oddity. . . .” (125)
- Pete is following Tibor. On his way, he finds an autofac (a porte-manteau word probably made out of 'automated factory'). He approaches the machine, which is dysfunctional, and addresses it with much reverence:
“'Uh—Your
Fabricatorship?' he ventured.
Nothing.
'… Processor, Producer, Distributor, Maintainer,' he went on, a portion of the ritual now occuring to him, 'Great Maker-Good on warranties, excluding labor and parts. I, a humble consumer, Pete Sands by name, beg leave to make representations before you.'” (169)
Nothing.
'… Processor, Producer, Distributor, Maintainer,' he went on, a portion of the ritual now occuring to him, 'Great Maker-Good on warranties, excluding labor and parts. I, a humble consumer, Pete Sands by name, beg leave to make representations before you.'” (169)
- Rilke's poem Abend (173):
Der Abend
wechselt langsam die Gewänder,
die ihm Rand von alten Bäumen hält;
du schaust: und von dir scheiden sich die Länder,
ein himmelfahrendes und eins, das fällt;
die ihm Rand von alten Bäumen hält;
du schaust: und von dir scheiden sich die Länder,
ein himmelfahrendes und eins, das fällt;
und lassen
dich, zu keinem ganz gehörend,
nicht ganz so dunkel wie das Haus, das schweigt,
nicht ganz so sicher Ewiges beschwörend
wie das, was Stern wird jede Nacht und steight;
nicht ganz so dunkel wie das Haus, das schweigt,
nicht ganz so sicher Ewiges beschwörend
wie das, was Stern wird jede Nacht und steight;
und lassen
die (unsäglich zu entwirnn)
dein Leben, bang und riesenhaft und reifend,
so dasz es, bald begrenzt und bald begreifend,
abwechselnd Stein in dir wird und Gestirn.
dein Leben, bang und riesenhaft und reifend,
so dasz es, bald begrenzt und bald begreifend,
abwechselnd Stein in dir wird und Gestirn.
- Tibor and Pete talk about paintings and how Wieth's pictures “looked exceptionally real.”
“'Pete,'
he said, 'there are an infinite number of ways of showing how things
actually look. They are all of them right, because they show it. Yet
each artist goes about it differently. It is partly what you choose
to emphasize and partly how you do it. It is plain that you have
never painted.'” (212)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire