still in the middle of Dickson Plaza.
He was dimly aware that he was the focus of some attention. Groups of passing students paused to stare at him curiously. One girl half turned, as though to ask him if he was all right, then changed her mind, shrugged, and went on.
He stood there for a long time.
It had suddenly occurred to him that he was born in 1946. October 10, 1946, to be exact. About the same time that that car had been in style.
He began to walk toward Parking Structure Number Three. He no longer had any doubt about it. He had lived in some previous life as the man he thought of as X. He wondered what kind of man X was, what he thought about, what he did, what other people thought of him. It struck him suddenly, and with shock, that perhaps X was evil. Perhaps he had committed an unpardonable sin as far as this woman Marcia was concerned. Otherwise, why had she wielded that murder weapon so viciously, with such obvious hatred? Why had she cut him off in the prime of his life?
And before X? Reincarnation meant that you lived many previous lives. That you were born and died and were born again. The soul remained the same, but it inhabited one body after another. Who had he been before X? What kind of man had he been? Good or evil? He considered himself a civilized and decent person now. But for all he knew, back in some previous life he could have been a rapist or a murderer. The thought wasn’t pleasant. But of course he would never really know.
Chapter 7
That night, he decided that he could not keep Nora in ignorance any longer. He told her everything, from the beginning right up to his discovery in the library.
“I must have had another life before this one.
Before
October 10, 1946. I
know
I was the man playing tennis, and swimming that lake, and driving that car. And this woman Marcia must have been something to me. Wife, lover,
something
.”
“I see. So you’ve been reincarnated. You died and you were born again. But you don’t know your name, rank, or serial number.”
“No.”
“Well,” she sighed, “you’re worse off than all those people in the institutions. At least
they
know they’re Napoleon, or Joan of Arc, or General Grant.”
“Damn it, I’m serious!”
“I know you are, Pete. But really—reincarnation?”
“A lot of people believe in reincarnation, Nora.”
“Oh, I know. Thousands, maybe millions. They believe in astrology charts, and tarot cards, and witchcraft, and gurus who’ll read your fortune for twenty-five dollars an hour. Most of them are kooks, or just plain simple-minded. I know the kids are going for the reincarnation thing in a big way. But they’ll go for anything that gives them an out, a chance to escape reality. They’re looking for miracles to make them feel better. Anyway, it’s just a fad with them, the way so many of these things are.”
Pete’s eyes wandered down to Nora’s left wrist, on which she was wearing two big copper bracelets. They were supposed to protectyou from arthritis, rheumatism, tennis elbow, and sciatica. He had noticed any number of women wearing them, and a few men.
Nora saw his grin. Her face turned red.
“Oh, look,” She said. “I just wear these for fun. It’s just a—well, it’s a gag.
You
know.”
“Sure,” he said. “I know.”
“Oh, go to hell!” She laughed, then grew serious.
“But really, Pete, think about it, and you’ll see how ridiculous it is. You die, but you don’t
really
die. Your soul doesn’t go to heaven or to hell, like the fire and brimstone preachers said it would, but floats around until it finds a home in another body. Maybe that new body was born ten years later, or a hundred years later. And so on and so on. Life is just one big karma trip. Now—can you really buy that?
Really?
”
“I don’t know,”
“When you’re dead, you’re dead. When they bury you in the ground, or cremate you, you’ve had it. You’re just a bunch of chemicals turned into ash. And there
He was dimly aware that he was the focus of some attention. Groups of passing students paused to stare at him curiously. One girl half turned, as though to ask him if he was all right, then changed her mind, shrugged, and went on.
He stood there for a long time.
It had suddenly occurred to him that he was born in 1946. October 10, 1946, to be exact. About the same time that that car had been in style.
He began to walk toward Parking Structure Number Three. He no longer had any doubt about it. He had lived in some previous life as the man he thought of as X. He wondered what kind of man X was, what he thought about, what he did, what other people thought of him. It struck him suddenly, and with shock, that perhaps X was evil. Perhaps he had committed an unpardonable sin as far as this woman Marcia was concerned. Otherwise, why had she wielded that murder weapon so viciously, with such obvious hatred? Why had she cut him off in the prime of his life?
And before X? Reincarnation meant that you lived many previous lives. That you were born and died and were born again. The soul remained the same, but it inhabited one body after another. Who had he been before X? What kind of man had he been? Good or evil? He considered himself a civilized and decent person now. But for all he knew, back in some previous life he could have been a rapist or a murderer. The thought wasn’t pleasant. But of course he would never really know.
Chapter 7
That night, he decided that he could not keep Nora in ignorance any longer. He told her everything, from the beginning right up to his discovery in the library.
“I must have had another life before this one.
Before
October 10, 1946. I
know
I was the man playing tennis, and swimming that lake, and driving that car. And this woman Marcia must have been something to me. Wife, lover,
something
.”
“I see. So you’ve been reincarnated. You died and you were born again. But you don’t know your name, rank, or serial number.”
“No.”
“Well,” she sighed, “you’re worse off than all those people in the institutions. At least
they
know they’re Napoleon, or Joan of Arc, or General Grant.”
“Damn it, I’m serious!”
“I know you are, Pete. But really—reincarnation?”
“A lot of people believe in reincarnation, Nora.”
“Oh, I know. Thousands, maybe millions. They believe in astrology charts, and tarot cards, and witchcraft, and gurus who’ll read your fortune for twenty-five dollars an hour. Most of them are kooks, or just plain simple-minded. I know the kids are going for the reincarnation thing in a big way. But they’ll go for anything that gives them an out, a chance to escape reality. They’re looking for miracles to make them feel better. Anyway, it’s just a fad with them, the way so many of these things are.”
Pete’s eyes wandered down to Nora’s left wrist, on which she was wearing two big copper bracelets. They were supposed to protectyou from arthritis, rheumatism, tennis elbow, and sciatica. He had noticed any number of women wearing them, and a few men.
Nora saw his grin. Her face turned red.
“Oh, look,” She said. “I just wear these for fun. It’s just a—well, it’s a gag.
You
know.”
“Sure,” he said. “I know.”
“Oh, go to hell!” She laughed, then grew serious.
“But really, Pete, think about it, and you’ll see how ridiculous it is. You die, but you don’t
really
die. Your soul doesn’t go to heaven or to hell, like the fire and brimstone preachers said it would, but floats around until it finds a home in another body. Maybe that new body was born ten years later, or a hundred years later. And so on and so on. Life is just one big karma trip. Now—can you really buy that?
Really?
”
“I don’t know,”
“When you’re dead, you’re dead. When they bury you in the ground, or cremate you, you’ve had it. You’re just a bunch of chemicals turned into ash. And there
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