Commentary 13

61. The game is on - basically because by being in the adventure, Joe isn't playing ball.

Now, interestingly, there's a scene out of "Sky Captain" movie, where the hero, heroine, and sidekick all wind up side by side - nude - in the same bed, waking up from an overdose of radiation. And they wake up better than ever, much as in this story.

If you haven't guessed by now, the white rocks are one-half of those amulets. They are life-giving, so are placed in boots to help restore the leather (among other things.)

Father George asks to see Joe's amulet shortly after his re-appearance. Here we see that there are a limited number of these amulets, and each has a family caretaker lineage. And Al tells his reason for sending it to Joe.

Al also starts to give us indications about Doreen - that she might be other than what is on the surface.

Now in this section is the complete description of the two types of stones, plus some indication of their power.

As they take their trip into the village, you could see that this would be a wonderful panoramic view - a village built into cliff-sides, above fertile files in the flood plains.

That reference to the native tongue being more meaningful than Spanish has it's roots in the various books about Huna I have read - Max Freedom Long tells a story of a witch-doctor who would speak spells in an ancient language as it had more power than modern ones. Huna is a language like this - very powerful meanings built into the language, which is how the Huna itself was preserved (See Long's book about this.)

Another side-bar: mixing silt with compost and manure does actually inject life back into it, in the form of various biota. Otherwise, silt is difficult to grow crops in, as it lacks oxygen and is tightly packed.

The canyon's flash floods are explained, and other aspects of the site - that because of the gorges and rocks below, the only way in is through a narrow winding footpath, and as well that the place is a dead zone - so no over-flights or other electronics to work here (and perhaps explains Doreen's lack of camera with her, not note if an old film-based camera would actually work - most had electronic or electric shutters.)

Father George now gives Joe a warning about Doreen, which is right at the end of the chapter, naturally...

62. Now this is odd - Joe stayed in the same dream for two sequences. But the prediction about Doreen comes true.

Again, the concept of inner peace available at any time to an individual is mentioned here.

63. We start to see the Prefect's thoughts - and he really is a one-dimensional character, if anyone is. Fame, money, power, respect - this guy is full of it. All insatiable desires. (Trace back what we've seen before about desires in this book and commentary, and you'll know exactly what the rest of his life is like.)

And Joe brings the whole thing to a halt, much as he did to Joe and Sue. White screens, anyone?

64. Speaking of which, here's the white room. And the Prefect gets a taste of his own medicine - or worse: he gets the truth.

Roger and Sue explain that they are now part of the Anomaly, so the game the Prefect is playing is done. While they are here to help him sort things out, the whole premise of what he was trying to accomplish is over.

And that line about Lady Justice holding a double-edged sword is true - check it out on Wikipedia. But it is corny.

65. Now the "Flight" begins. Joe has Campbell's "Boon", but needs to get out of this situation in the hospital-dream. Enter the pretty brunette he met earlier in the Garden. She appears to be a mind-reader, telling him he can call her Helen - but we never know if that's her actual name, or just a coincidence (as if anything is a coincidence in life - but that it another line of thought...)

She's gotten herself and him a change of clothes to get out of there. And the mirror shows up again.

Now the "long route" they need to take is just another mystery. Of course they aren't just going to walk out the front door. But here again is the use of lover-interaction to enable people around them to simply assume data about them. Joe is the red-blooded male beneficiary of this, but he is again following the woman's lead, as he did with Doreen.

There might be a mutual interaction which is necessary in life between sexes, but that's just a note on looking over the story as I wrote it. (Certainly, these females aren't submissive types.)