| LOST: The VALIS Connection |
| Thursday, 27 March 2008 | |
 Once is chance, twice is a theme. In both Eggtown and The Other Woman, the book Valis by Philip K. Dick made a cameo, picked from Bens personal bookshelf. And, as most Lost viewers know, nothing happens on this show by chance. Valis is about a man by the name of Horselover Fat who, during a strange experience with a pink beam of light, begins to understand that the world in which he lives is a lie. There are also people who claim to be aliens and a two year old girl who just might be the new Messiah, but if you've ever read anything by Philip K. Dick you know full well that it's just easier for you to go out and read it than it would be for me to try to explain the whole thing to you. However, the book itself isn't what has me scratching my head like some B-Movie scientist... ...it's how the book came to be. Originally published in his memoirs, the story surrounding the creation of Valis (as well as some of his other books) was illustrated by R. Crumb and published in an issue of Weirdo magazine in the mid-80s. In it, Dick recalls a strange series of events that happened to him and circumstances that he couldn't explain or understand. Long time fans of Lost may see some odd similarities: (The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick, courtesy of Scribd.com) The obvious themes are there, if taken somewhat further in execution. Philip K. Dick finds himself as a person existing in two different time periods at once, what he calls "trans-temporal constancy". It's as if everything in the past and present are one and the same. You could say that he's living in the present and experiencing vivid flashbacks, or possibly even that he is much like Desmond after the helicopter ride this season - a previous version of his consciousness in his present day body. Shown a dire prediction about an unknown birth defect in his infant son, Philip is able to get him to the doctor and save his life before the complications from it kill him. As we've seen on Lost, certain characters seem to always know what is coming, almost preternaturally at times. Desmond even had a fit of ESP there for a bit, predicting Charlie's death each time before it happened and saving him (well, except for that whole drowning thing... sorry Charlie). I believe that someone like Benjamin Linus would keep Valis on his shelf because of the obvious parallels to the island. That being on the island is a mystical and spiritual experience where many things are possible. We've seen it heal Locke of his paralysis, cure Rose's cancer, even helping Ben recover from spinal surgery (with a complication thanks to Jack's escape plan) in a matter of days. Ben speaks of Jacob much in the same way that P.K.D. speaks of Elijah. It's more than possible that Jacob is a spirit from another time that is somehow connected to the present day island, as we've seen him up and disappear - ghost shack and all - in the blink of an eye. Now, I'm not saying that Valis or even the events that led to it's creation are in any way related to the final "Big How and Why" of the island, only that the writers have proven themselves eerily good at placing obscure references and small nods to similar material in the series. Much like "Shambala" by Three Dog Night or Stephen King's "Carrie" (the book Juliet chose for the book club), I won't ever be able to look at "Valis" the same way again. Thoughts? Ideas? Favorite obscure reference? Post a comment below and let us know! Comments (4)
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