Infinite Summer

So we know Hal and Don Gately dug up Himself's head while John Wayne stood look out. In the "professional conversationalist" section Himself says he has an entertainment cartridge in his head. I'm just floating this out there, but what if the entertainment cartridge in Himself's head is what Steeply is referring to on page 126 when he asks "this quote 'anti'-Entertainment"? Marathe says they "have no evidence except craziness of rumors." It's probably a long shot idea, but if Himself making the "antidote" film and putting it into his own head doesn't fit under a possible "craziness of rumors" category, I don't know what does. After all, it has been suggested that Hal actually watched the Entertainment. I personally don't buy that he did, because going out and digging up a body is too active compared to the sedentary response most viewers typically show, but who's to say Hal's tremendous intellect couldn't be brought to bear on the situation?

It's probably quite wrong, but I thought I'd share it nonetheless.

Nope. It's wrong. I put the timeline together a little better, and digging up Himself's skull predates the admissions interview. It couldn't have been the anti-Entertainment.

The other problem is that, as best I can recall, there's no further mention of the anti-Entertainment. It's strongly implied that what is buried with JOI is the master cartridge of IJ V.

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Second-time reader.

So I'm kind of slow from time to time...

I just realized why Himself stuck his head in the microwave. On my first reading I thought it was just because he was bat s#!t crazy. Of course you would have to be, but you can see the reasoning behind his madness... He felt like he had to destroy whatever was in his head. Maybe he had shown it to somebody, saw the reaction and realized he had to destroy the master copy. Maybe it was just a case of a very self-involved man trying to protect people.

would someone mind adding a page reference for grave digging / implied copy of IJ V?

thanks. i kept wondering if i missed something about the grave digging because all i remembered was that short mention of it...

Also, if Himself did have the anti-Entertainment in his head, why would he call it 'priapistic' on p. 17? It seems like priapistic is more appropriate an adj for IJ. So then, did he have IJ implanted in his head?

I'm sorry I don't have the page number offhand, but there's another reference to grave digging and JOI's head -- it's when Gatley is in the hospital, floating in and out of consciousness. He has a dream about digging up someone's head with a "sad kid" and someone else. Gatley doesn't understand what's going on but is told it's of inter- continental importance. (I'm paraphrasing left and right). And I *think* he's told they specifically need something inside JOI's head. And as I recall, he's also told they're too late.

I'll come back with better wording and supporting page numbers once I get a paper copy of the book -- I'm reading it on my phone. Which is great in some ways, but sort of terrible for being able to communicate with other people about the book.

@Codyvander -- I don't think you're slow at all, re: the microwave thing. I definitely missed it, and think it's a great observation.

[quote]I'm sorry I don't have the page number offhand, but there's another reference to grave digging and JOI's head -- it's when Gatley is in the hospital, floating in and out of consciousness. He has a dream about digging up someone's head with a "sad kid" and someone else. Gatley doesn't understand what's going on but is told it's of inter- continental importance. (I'm paraphrasing left and right). And I *think* he's told they specifically need something inside JOI's head. And as I recall, he's also told they're too late.[quote]

It's on page 934, and I think it's really important, but I don't know how or why just yet.

And but so there's this, too: JOI killed himself by putting his head in a microwave oven. Hal was the first person on the scene afterwards. Here's part of his conversation with Orin about what he saw:

"Or have you for example, say, ever like baked a potato in a microwave oven? Did you know you have to cut the potato open before you turn the oven on? Do you know why that is?"

"Jesus."

"The "B.[oston] P.[olice] D.[epartment] field pathologist said the build-up of internal pressues would have been almost instantaneous and equivalent in kg.s.cm to over two sticks of TNT."

"Jesus Christ, Hallie."

"Hence the need to reconstruct the scene." (page 251)

Later on in the same scene (page 253) Hal says, "The B.P.D. field pathologist who drew the chalk lines around Himself's shoes on the floor said maybe ten seconds tops. He said the pressure build-up would have been almost instantaneous. Then he gestured at the kitchen walls. Then he threw up. The field pathologist."

So there's no head left to bury--except maybe a few bits and pieces scraped off the kitchen walls.