Infinite Summer

It seems that a person's ability to get "sucked in" by the Entertainment has to do with their level of gluttony and American-style blind faith. Note the people who were victims: The Saudi attaché, who is described as extremely hedonistic; his wife, who is, between the lines, described as extremely passive; Prince Q's physician (physicians have been described throughout the book, and esp. in JOI's films, as negative and sadistic); security guards and police (there to do what they are told, not to think for themselves); and two members of DFW's union of wandering pseudo-Christian extras, the "neatly groomed Seventh Day Adventist pamphleteers"; about whom you can make your own judgments, for they have surely made theirs about you.

Steeply, when describing the incident (which Marathe refers to as "this blue dazzle you speak of") says, "The local constabulary were shall we say unprepared for an Entertainment like this," implying that if one were "prepared" one could view the Entertainment without, well, being a victim of the Blue Dazzle.

I'm wondering of the attaché and company were doomed because the cartridge was on continuous replay. Not that one or all wouldn't insist on restarting it manually, but I wonder if the damage is permanent even upon a single or partial viewing.

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"It is easy to put on a show & be cocky. . . Or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself. . . now that, my friend, is very hard to do." --Bruce Lee

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"It is easy to put on a show & be cocky. . . Or I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself. . . now that, my friend, is very hard to do." --Bruce Lee

So, given that JOI is responsible for The Entertainment and that someone sent it to the medical attaché on purpose, my question is, what happened on April 1st? The package did say "Happy Anniversary". Is it the attaché's anniversary with JOI's wife? Apart from the professional conversation episode, I can't think of anything else we've seen that has happened on April 1st (though I'm a few pages behind right now).

Well, also April 1 is April Fool's Day.

But also, something that might or might not mean anything: April 1 is the anniversary of Hal's discussion with his father (p 27-31, in the Year of the Tucks Medicated Pad), in which JOI discusses Avril's affairs with medical attachés; but then also in the novel, the discussion of the medical attaché receiving the entertainment starts just a couple pages later, on p 33; and what falls in between is a brief episode in which Orin calls Hal.

it might not be significant, but it draws a strange kind of logical line for the reader over the course of just ten pages within this huge novel: from Hal's conversation about the attaches on Apr 1 YTMP, to a call from Orin (who is in Phoenix) to Hal, to the attaché's receipt of the entertainment (from Phoenix) on Apr 1 YDAU.

I keep thinking there's a connection between this apparently fatal "entertainment" and Hal's early reference to some holography scientist as the Antichrist. Wondering if the TP is holographic.

troybob I think your insights are really good.

At this point we're being told that Avril is in league with the AFR. I have never understood the character of a woman depicted as being so neat and tidy, so geographically running precisely in a square in such a state because her son has eaten some fearful-looking mold (that scene comes right after 'call it something I ate' btw, don't lose track of that,) vis-a-vis this grossly unfaithful woman who had made such a mess of Incandenza Sr. with her bizarrely plentiful infidelities--?? These two descriptions of Avril (whose name also means April in French of course) are really close together; it's April Fool's Day so any of what happens might be a 'jest'--?? One that recurs, every year?

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The dorks are saving the nation, and this book proves it.