The Transmigration of Timothy Archer by Philip K. Dick Page B

anxious to say something more.
    "What Schiller saw in Wallenstein was a man who colluded with fate to bring on his own demise. This would be for the German Romantics the greatest sin of all, to collude with fate, fate regarded as doom." He followed me from the bedroom, down the hall. "The whole spirit of Goethe and Schiller and—the others, their whole orientation was that the human will could overcome fate. Fate would not be regarded as inevitable but as something a person allowed. Do you see my point? To the Greeks, fate was
ananke,
a force absolutely predetermined and impersonal; they equated it with Nemesis, which is retributive, punishing fate."
    "I'm sorry," I said. "I have to go to the store."
    "Aren't they bringing the pizza?"
    "Kirsten's not feeling well."
    Standing close to me and speaking in a low voice, Tim said, "Angel, I'm very concerned about her. I can't get her to go to a doctor. Her stomach—either that or her gall bladder. Maybe you can convince her to undergo a multiphasic. She's afraid of what they'll find. You know, don't you, that she had cervical cancer a number of years ago."
    "Yes," I said.
    "And a hysterocleisis."
    "What is that?"
    "A surgical procedure; the mouth of the uterus is closed. She has so many anxieties in this area, that is, pertaining to this topic; it's impossible for me to discuss it with her."
    "I'll talk to her," I said.
    "Kirsten blames herself for Jeff's death."
    "Shit," I said. "I was afraid of that."
    Coming from the living room, Kirsten said to me, "Add ginger ale to the list I gave you. Please."
    "Okay," I said. "Is the store—"
    "Turn right," Kirsten said. "It's four blocks straight and then one block left. It's a Chinese-run little grocery store but they have what I want."
    "Do you need any more cigarettes?" Tim said.
    "Yes, you might pick up a carton," Kirsten said. "Any of the low-tar brands; they all taste the same."
    "Okay," I said.
    Opening the door for me, Tim said, "I'll drive you." The two of us made our way down the sidewalk to his rented car, but, as we stood, he discovered that he did not have the keys. "We'll have to walk," he said. So we walked together, saying nothing for a time.
    "It's a nice night," I said finally.
    "There's something I've been meaning to discuss with you," Tim said. "Although technically it's not within your province."
    "I didn't know I had a province," I said.
    "It's not an area of expertise for you. I'm not sure who I should talk to about it. These Zadokite Documents are in some respects—" He hesitated. "I would have to say distressing. To me personally, is what I mean. What the translators have come across is many of the Logia—the sayings—of Jesus predating Jesus by almost two hundred years."
    "I realize that," I said.
    "But that means," Tim said, "that he was not the Son of God. Was not, in fact, God, as the Trinitarian doctrine requires us to believe. That may pose no problem for you, Angel."
    "No, not really," I agreed.
    "The Logia are essential to our understanding and apperception of Jesus as the Christ; that is, the Messiah or Anointed One. If, as would now seem to be the case, the Logia can be severed from the person Jesus, then we must reevaluate the four Gospels—not just the Synoptics but all four ... we must ask ourselves what, then, we indeed do know about Jesus, if indeed we know anything at all."
    "Can't you just assume Jesus was a Zadokite?" I said. That was the impression I had gotten from the newspaper and magazine articles. Upon the discovery of the Qumran Scrolls, the Dead Sea Scrolls, there had been an enormous flurry of speculation that Jesus came from or was in some way connected with the Essenes. I saw no problem. I could not see what Tim was concerned about, as the two of us walked slowly along the sidewalk.
    "There is a mysterious figure," Tim said, "mentioned in a number of the Zadokite Documents. He's referred to by a Hebrew word best translated as 'Expositor.' It is this shadowy personage to whom many