Atdtda37: Calls from a crazy person, 1045

[Paul Nightingale]

And so to Thetis the gatekeeper 'in a dither', visiting Santa Barbara a
distraction from this reality. The previous section has dealt with the
reading/interpretation of reality, the uncovering of truth. For Lew and
Emilio, investigation is unproblematic. Here we have another kind of
interpretation, the impression made by Merle, unseen. For Thetis, he is 'a
crazy person, total panic in his voice'; a few lines down, 'described
himself as an inventor' emphasises Lew's take on someone he doesn't know.
These lines might remind us that, on 1037, Merle and Roswell were described
as a 'pair of mad inventors' with, in those pages, no recollection of Chick,
in Chicago or afterwards. The previous section has featured Lew's return to
the past; however, the narrative here emphasises that he doesn't know, or
have any recollection of, Merle.


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