In Pursuit of Valis

by Philip K. Dick

  Anyhow, the Aquarian symbols overwhelm the fish symbols; they come first & simply are extensive, complex, indomitable, clear & religious not astrological. What VALIS seems to do—& in fact do primarily!—is associate the Divine with the Aquarian symbols as completely as we are accustomed to seeing it linked to the fish sign, & in a certain real sense I transfer Christ over from the fish sign, without repudiating it, to the water pitcher sign (clay pot is pitcher held or filled with water). Thus my neo-iconography is exact, & this, to me, is indubitable verification; QED. Because this iconography in connection with Christ was not only totally unknon to me, it is also totally unknown to Christianity itself, & therefore points to Christ & xtianity outside Christianity (as does the 5th Savior notion!)

  There is a final comment by Kevin[198] about the barefoot woman in the long old-fashioned dress dipping water from the stream into the pitcher/pot: she is back in Roman times; thus the Aquarian iconography carries back to apostolic times, a point that B. Creme[199] made on the interview program. It is in the Gospel. But obliquely.

  (1982)

  Chapter Five: Plot Outlines and Explorations for Work-in-Progress

  Novel plot, the twin-brains/minds: the U.S. fear is that the Soviets are using their research into psychic esp powers for long-distance mind control etc. Like electronic boost of telepathic suggestion via satellite; maybe even specific persons in U.S. affected (or so the U.S. counterin. thinks). Specific individuals reached in their dreams without knowing it, their views and even decisions influenced. This is the theory, anyhow; SOMETHING, ANYHOW, IS HAPPENING. And then it happens to the protag: the Essene reborn inside him; the Parousia is here! That is what’s happening! Yep; a superpowerful mind-force was indeed influencing people, causing them to do things they otherwise wouldn’t, and yes they are secretive about it, reluctant to talk ... as he himself becomes (since no one would believe him—and he’s to help overthrown the tyranny, which adds this to the VALIS-Abendsen[200] plot, of the tyranny overthrow!!!)

  This superimposes the two plots: VALISYSTEM A and TO SCARE THE DEAD. Wow!

  Plot:

  From inside he learns the Albemuth whale’s mouth sign and how to fashion the ideograph.

  [Drawing by PKD (c. 1974) of what he termed the “Albemuth whale’s mouth sign.” PKD saw a relationship between this ideograph and the Golden Fish necklace, as well as with the homoplasmate which he believed may have bonded with him. PKD further saw a linkage between this sign-when drawn repeatedly, to form a connective chain—and the DNA double helix; DNA and the homoplasmate were, in his view, analogous forms of living information.]

  A mysterious organization imperils him; he’s taken over and subjected to psychological testing to acquire from him the contents of his mind. The psychtester of it draws the whale’s mouth sign under duress, in a “trance,” later finds it and doesn’t remember having made it. Protag cannot figure if these are his powers, or Theirs. But they work in his behalf.

  He keeps seeing the sign ... like emblem for beer company, used in their ads on billboards; he sees little kids gazing at it, or like emblem for kentucky fried chicken places, where kids always go.

  Nobody else can discern it but him (and there must be others like him; this is main plot element; his conviction, his search). They call it “an eye, with a pupil.” (The fried chicken designer swears this.) A scientist, when asked to analyze it as a symbol, decides it’s the Earth within its magnetic or electrostatic plasma, which is blue. No one but God’s Own know it as it is built up, in layers.

  Men become what they are not, are transformed; but this doesn’t mean into their opposite. What they become can’t be predicted (I guess the best bits from each, the ideal pieces, are all retained and used to form the new pattern, plus pieces never used but needed, even if contrary to the person’s ego and values as they were.) Like, his friend could be one who has changed who was/is a Nazi; the best parts of that: the remnants in that person to be preserved (micro paradigm of mankind).

  One of the most long-lasting and major plot ideas comes when the head of the mysterious organization commissions the building of an observatory like place to screen incoming signals from VALIS; work on The Project begins. It orbits the earth and will be visible to the world, once the parts are joined ... when they are joined, they form the Albemuth sign, although it was impossible to discern this beforehand (he tried to be sure of that: “the sum is greater than the whole of its parts,” etc.).

  But the signals are interchanged throughout and among everything, even on the “mundane” plane. The Trash of the gutter “conspire” to signal people information. I think reserved for last should be the scene with the little things of the gutter talk [sic; ing] to him (to the former or still Antagonist).

  Amazing, how like TEARS this is ... the Antagonist must not be desk man, but still, isn’t he a cop? Maybe a fanatic of some kind? Maybe never an Interior “VP by him, like Buckman was. Always outer, except final scene, when he walks in alley and trash talks to him.

  Antag is afraid it’ll form a pattern when through, and has as much randomized by computer as possible. Tries to see it himself as world progresses, but can’t. Final bit which “makes” Gestalt is dealt in plot outline: why the particular designer of that part came to design it that way ... we follow him as separate plot moving to join other plots, as his part does. He can see that when his part is towed into place it’ll make a—that—pattern, but he is motivated: for odd motivations, which we show in detail: the series of motivational events leading up to him consciously deciding to alter away from the design, without in any fashion having any large motive, anything equal to or commensurate with the result. For instance: suppose this minor character is convinced that the Antag is deliberately going to produce the WM [whale’s mouth] sign, or that “they” will cause it to happen because they control Antag without Antag knowing it; Antag is in their power. Maybe he even has dreams inspiring him to create his segment this way, which he interprets will outwit them; otherwise it will. He is convinced that Antag is deluded—which Antag is; Antag worries that some deluded section chief will cause change without mentioning it—which minor ch. does. So pattern does emerge: “two wrongs make a right.” Deluded Antag and deluded section chief at cross purposes, both attempting to foil pattern, produce pattern.

  Better: the shape comes out okay, not the sign, but like the word which the sign stands for (Albemuth) appears all over the Project (e.g.: the name Al, for instance. The initial B. The German word for courage. Albert or Alfred Muth has his name on all the papertowel dispensers in the washrooms. The world—Logos—appears assembled everywhere as it’s supposed to be: albemuth. Made up as an anacryon,[201] by someone to express the idea of Courage to the project, his own name, Al, be courageous! Or A number one, be courageous, etc.

  Best of all if “Al” is one one item in every washroom, like towel dispenser, and the rest elsewhere. And then in every washroom the whole name is assembled from its two parts. “Have or be courageous” could be one part, and then “Al” is A-one,” a stamp indicating # of unit bolted to it. Or poor schizy guy thinks of Behemuth etc. Takes “Beware Leviathan and Behemuth come” and so forth from tract, feeds it into computer; other schizy guy, but this one not Jesus freak but double domed German sees “be courageous” in it as it’s shredded or decyphered, thinks, “Be courageous,” and as it’s shredded—the Bible thing—he punches out the bemuth. To remind himself???? Maybe this sort of method:

  Three parts of which “b” is middle. We work it backward, the way mystery stories are written. “B” from start is their code to destroy, the Adversary organization. “Muth” is German for courage and is name of mfgr of dispenser. The “Al” is marked on each automatically when it’s been installed and read for use. When master machine-computer sees the world “coming along through ortho time” it signals each entity (towel dispenser) destroyed, using B symbol, but symbol must be placed on each entity to mark it, where it remains.

  The computer can’t mark the dis
pensers for destruction without using the “B” mark. Which will complete the Logos. It knows it. Double-bind.

  No, it would be the “A-One Towel Service.”

  Computer decides not to use “B” stamp; refrains. Then scene of guy who enters washroom. Stands at urinal, and we catch his line of sight; you gotta be there at that spot, at each urinal. First the “A-one” then into a slogan-sigh posted (one in each washroom) reading:

  ARE YOUR THOUGHTS YOUR OWN? THE ENEMY MAY BE INFLUENCING YOU WITHOUT YOUR REALIZING HE IS!

  He catches the ending “be,” then finishes pissing, goes to washbasin; already he has seen the “muth” part. In the BG [background] the ubiquitous Muzak is playing “I’ll see you in Deluth,” and to himself he is murmuring. “Deluth ... albemuth” without knowing why. Dries hands. Fade out. Except that the whole orbiting space-station is pointless anyhow because although the info is coming from Albemuth (Fomalhaut) it’s everywhere; hence always already here on Earth, so the Project is pointless. Given the pointless duplication of the human Adversary and the computer who check and recheck and monitor each other.

  This Group Mind from the stars is their own noosphere, in Earth’s ionosphere; the enemy (to the Adversary) is themselves; they’d have to burn off the ionosphere and stop all radio traffic to abate it.

  One of the levels of cover to the drawn symbol (the flux plasma around the Earth) is the or a real meaning.

  Duplication of the word; keep the Jesus freak handing out tracts about Leviathan and Behemuth; also in addition keep the German with his “Be Courageous.” Computer sees the words in tract shaping up to join the “Be courageous,” heads that off; not so the towel biz; it misses that. “Be courageous” gets fed into computer itself because it is thought—i.e., telepath-operated; it notes, rejects; sees how tract will link up with German “muth.” No, “German Muth” twice; on towel dispenser and in German’s head. How about if guy in washroom gazes briefly into mirror at his teeth to see if they’re okay, his whole face. No, just strike these: the name “Muth” on towel dis. and the guy looking in mirror .. .he sees A1 which is A-one, adds the BE from the slogan and hears the “Deluth,” forms Albemuth in his own head from 2 visual and 1 audio sources. And this: “As he scrutinized his features in the mirror over the wash basin, his hair, then his mouth.” So A-one / BE / “Deluth” / mouth. 3 visual, 1 aural. (Sees “five o’clock shadow by mouth (word in text)”[).]

  (The plot use of “b” as destruct code: they must eliminate their destruct code finally; also for their German workmen the word “Courage.” Sees it shaping up as German word in say slogan, and then the destruct symbol with it; must destruct destruct symbol before it becomes bmuth. or b-muth. Can’t order Slogan term a1458 “Courage” struck from list; falsely sees this coming up, when any slogan with “Courage” is translated into German.

  Nutty Soviet theory: a vast explosion in future, and we are traveling backward in time for limited period. An explosion so that what we see now as movement toward form is reverse of explosion, or implosion; but we see the universe as expanding ... why? Because our perceptions are backward, too. Or maybe space isn’t going backward, but must expand to counterbalance time which is running backward, etc. Anyhow, he announces, (Dr. H.K.)[202] soon we will reach moment of explosion; he’s calculated that, by running film backward. Soon all the pieces should be in place. Living in this reverse period, we’ve learned to adjust subtemporal events to fit. It’s total sweep that’s backward, not “subtemporal” adjustments which we instigate due to misperception; he carefully discerns and divides these from the sweep; these adjustments are all errors due to our basic perceptual reversal. We have introduced erroneous views and acts stemming from them; however, none of these acts have any effect, we still run away from the explosion ahead in time (actually are now moving—aw fuck. A see-saw. Anyhow, there would be a two way time-motion simultaneously[)] :

  The explosion took place. Everything flew apart. We are in that flying apart (expanding universe) but see it backward, in that already part of the time flow has corrected itself and is carrying us in the correct direction; otherwise we would move away from the explosion forever. But we are moving, or anyhow there is the orthogonal flow within the flow going opposite to the direction we perceive; a mobius strip with time running both ways at once. This can easily be represented in terms of gravity, when a boomerang is thrown out ... at this moment the time-flow is far greater in one of the two directions, but he has picked up the weaker other, and it is the correct one, the direction we were going in before the Accident. This one is the rectifying flow (the Holy Spirit: restoring!!!). This retroflow, Dr. HK says, must grow stronger, will grow stronger, until it balances the wrong way one (now stronger); overcomes and reverses our direction so we’re heading back toward the original explosion which took place in the Authentic Future (the Big Bang!!!). We must move back toward it, finally. Anyhow, Dr. HK detects with his instruments a growing current of retrotime; this is why it exists; this was the normal flow-direction until the Accident. If Dr. Kozyrev[203] is correct, and time is energy, then reverse time (which throws us “forward” away from the Big Bang) causes us to lose energy, which we call movement toward entropy; however, if we could gather—latch onto—the other time-flow, which also is energy, we (each of us) could regather the energy lost in the “forward” time flow toward entropy! We could get it back because it is gathering in precisely the sense that our regular time is losing heat or energy or charge. This gives us our parity, equilibrium equation for time which it now lacks and should have and shows why first it is absurd to say “the universe gains energy,” as Dr. Kozyrev says—where does it gain it from? It cannot gain or lose. Entropy is losing energy; energy and matter are the same; it’s losing matter. So: we have an eternal total double-entry same total of both time—flow energies at any segment of the universe so extended.

  Look how we run down, wear out, age ... think what charge, what rebirth, resurrection, new life, the retrograde time-flow would give us! All that we’d lost, too: and a keen vision of the past-as-alive, the past not qua past, but past qua future!!!!!!! Heading for it as surely as we normally head toward say the year 2100 A.D. The future in retro would be 100 A.D. just as surely, but gaining energy and life, through retro time as one moved!

  The universe does not go through serial cycles, but moves backward through its own life continually. We are at a point where the thrust backward is vast in comparison to true time, that is, time toward completion of true form before the accident (the universe is in a stall, a doublebind![).] This may be an anomaly; once it reaches either end point, this may be overcome. One can see that; it doesn’t repeat itself. We are now in the process of being thrust back incorrectly, away from form-completion; nonetheless, already the other direction time is somewhat strong and its rate of ratio growth is great. Once the direction is reversed and we’re again going in the correct way, then we may take a different destiny line (alternate track) and not come to the original explosion; avoid it.

  And maybe this isn’t even the whole universe; maybe we’re part of a subsystem moving in this wrong direction. We do know when the Accident took place: about 6 billion years ago. But we could change directions before that; we don’t go back to that; we’re not moving away from it, and what you and I should look for is not going back 6 billion years and rectifying that mistake, but wrong-way thrown-back time “slowing” and regular time regaining dominance; we should watch for our cosmos moving the proper direction in time, which would be a reverse from what we are used to—IN THE DIRECTION OF OUR PAST. It is not reaching this explosion 6 billion years ago that is important for us, but slowing our movement away from it and reversing and moving backward into our own past.

  Asked when this reversal to proper time direction might be anticipated, Dr. HK said, “By our wrong way time, fairly soon.”

  “Then we must relive our recent past?”

  “Yes, we will move backward into it, but perhaps at quite a different rate; we might move m
ore rapidly than we advanced, I mean, retreated through it.”

  “People would stop dying?”

  “Oh yes—the entropic process, cooling, aging, wearing out, degeneration—all that would cease. Once we picked up time momentum the other way—we might overcome the Accidental-thrust time. Think of a person blown literally from his garage when his hot water heater explodes. In an instant he is in the next field. His rate of return to the scene is much slower. In our universe, the force of Accidental thrust time is weakening; we have no way to ascertain what the ‘correct’ rate would be going the other way, before this Accident took place. We are presently living within two opposite thrusts, working against each other, like two tides. Think, though, how slowly time moves for a child, esp. a baby. Time is weak now but we might abruptly lock; this accidental wrong may might suddenly stabilize.”

  “Like the Bible says? Time will suddenly cease?”

  “Wrong-direction time—”

  “Sounds like the same thing.”

  “It is possible,” Dr. HK said, “that under regular process-conditions there is no time as we know it, lineal time, either way. We may find ourselves back in what we call our past without any interval; there may be no reverse lineal time, because lineal time is solely a result of the Accident, and once overcome—”

  “Not backward lineal time, in its place, but timelessness?”

  “I think we will see the damages overcome, when it is stabilized. Either we will lock into timelessness, then begin lineal reversal, which I conceive as natural—”

  “Or we may find ourselves jumped back 2000 years.”