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Receiving Divine Messages Part III:
The Structure of the Universe Shivering World by Kathy Tyers, Bethany House, TP, 2004 Let’s define an “omen” as a visible, material world result of some invisible force or pattern of forces. Reading an “omen” then is the process of figuring out what invisible force(s) produced this effect. Seeing which way the astral wind is blowing lets you position your sails to move your life along more efficiently. There’s a lot of room for diversity of opinion in that process. “If man were meant to fly, God would have given him wings.” Ultimately, one of the big reasons fortunetelling is forbidden in the Bible is that, in order to read an omen, you have to filter that divine message through your own subconscious mind—your fears, aching desires, insecurities, and over-weaning self-righteousness. The divine message may be received, but the interpretation is more a reflection of who you are than of divine intent. Remember all the columns I’ve done here about the search for identity, defining identity, and why this is so important in the training of a magician? Reading omens, and interpreting how others read omens, is one of the most severe tests of your knowledge of your own identity. Your identity is impressed on the interpretation deeply, and sometimes invisibly, before the words leave your mouth. Well, now we come to four science fiction novels addressing a matter of growing concern in our world which is directly related to omen reading, free will, and identity. We are now eating—and becoming ever more dependent upon—genetically engineered crops. We are producing genetically altered animals, by cloning and other methods. We are producing antivirals and antibiotics to cure diseases by first analyzing the disease organism’s genes. We are spending vast sums on research to “fix” genetic flaws and mid-life genetic mutations in humans. The controversy is heating up. Where does the occultist stand on the issue of genetic engineering? What omens are there to read? Where do you start thinking about genetics? A gene is a pattern. It is the material world expression of—well, something. It could be the aggregation of random chance. It could be the result of some living entity’s fun and games, scientific experiment, or deliberate objective. Or maybe the form of genetic patterns is the result of divine will. Possibly random chance was built into the universe by divine will, and random chance has resulted in life patterned by genes that break and malfunction. Maybe it’s our job to fix these things? How do we find out which? Is knowing which important enough to be worth the expense of finding out? What if we do find out, and the result is an incontrovertible fact which positively disproves some cherished and widespread religion? People used to read omens in entrails and clouds. Suppose the new omen reader is the geneticist who samples your genes and reads your future? And then offers to fix it? To find one view of life, we can look at hundreds of biographies, look at the people around us, and distill for ourselves what life is. “Life has its ups and downs.” “That’s life—no good deed goes unpunished.” “She’s ruined her life by dropping out of school.” “If she’s ever going to have a good life, she must not learn to read and write. Women who do are always miserable.” Or we can learn to read astrological charts, and learn to understand lives as each being unique, but all fitting into broad patterns. We learn the difference between the life of the soul and the life of the body. (In fiction, astrology gives you the plot of the novel, the events that happen to the person.) Or we learn Tarot and understand life as a series of initiations and emotional epiphanies that change you. (In fiction, Tarot gives you the story of the novel, the effect of the events on the person.) Where do genes and genetic engineering fit into a view of life as seen through the lens of karma, reincarnation? If the business of life is to mature the eternal soul, what do the seething, mutating, dysfunctional genes that pattern our bodies have to do with anything important? I’m sure most of the readers of this column have some opinions (more than one per person!) about the answers to those questions. But please, don’t stop thinking just because you’ve formulated an opinion. Here are four authors who have given some thought to what kind of world people will live in when/if various sorts of genetic manipulation become commonplace (whether legal or not.). Read these books, think about what they are really saying, then watch your opinions reformulate. Read the messages your identity imposes upon your opinions. Read these books and learn who you are. Kathy Tyers has portrayed the disagreements that sincere Christian sects might have over the issue of genetics. Shivering World shows us an all-human interstellar society, terraforming worlds using genetically engineered organisms, and living under an absolute prohibition from genetic tinkering with humans. The main character is dying of a genetic mutation caused by living in exposed orbital habitats—because Earth is no longer habitable. She wants her genes fixed so she can have a normal child. She isn’t asking to have her life saved. She gets more than she bargains for. This novel was spoiled for me by the floating point of view which reveals the conspiracies long before the main characters find out. But that’s a personal taste. Don’t ignore this book just because of the Christian orientation. A lot of serious thinking went into it. Kristine Smith explores the plight of Jani Killian in this fourth in the series I have reviewed here in the June, 2001, and August, 2002 columns, Code of Conduct, Rules of Conflict, Law of Survival, and now Contact Imminent. Jani Killian is the first human to receive alien DNA as a fix for injuries sustained in battle. The infused DNA changes her whole body in unexpected ways. The alien religion is splitting over the hybridization issue. One religious leader proclaims hybridization with humanity the inevitable future of their kind. Humans recoil in horror. One interstellar conglomerate that does genetic engineering has hit on a better method for creating human/alien hybrids and has created a small colony of them on a world colonized by both species. Religion, politics and profit—what an explosive mixture. Read these beautifully crafted books before you make up your mind about genetics and omen reading. Kristine Smith weaves a couple of hot love triangles into Contact Imminent, and it seems to me that love itself is as much the problem as the solution to the conflicts. Megan Sybil Baker, in Gabriel’s Ghost, shows us how love can transcend even politics, but romance can really mess things up. In Gabriel’s Ghost, an interstellar patrol ship captain, Chasidah Bergren, is stripped of rank and sent to a harsh prison when she becomes the scapegoat in a political conspiracy. A criminal she’s been chasing for years rescues her. He wants her to help him stop an illegal genetics experiment involving alien reproduction. She takes the chance at the jailbreak to clear her name, but never figures on falling in love with the rogue. This novel raises issues of right and wrong that will make your head spin, and stews it all together with questions about loyalty to a corrupt government. The writing is top notch, the romance is neatly balanced against action and larger issues, and the whole book is a smoothly integrated whole. It’s also a very sweet read. P.M. Griffin gives us the eleventh installment in her long running Star Commandos series that I’ve raved about for years. In Star Commandos: Pariah, we focus on the aftermath of the war fought in the first ten volumes. An admiral and Arcturian war prince has joined the commando unit responsible for many defeats of his side during the war. He is telepathically bonded to the woman who commands the unit. But among her people, he is regarded with open hatred. Genetics is an issue, but so is culture and values. This installment is the story of this Arcturian war prince, Varn Tarl Sogan, brought to second in command under the woman he loves, going among her people—who hate his kind, and him in particular for his victories in the war. This novel examines hatred, helplessness, love and peace from so many angles I can’t count them. There is the question, “What do the great warriors do when the war is over?” What if you’ve read the omens wrong? When you willingly give your life to the greater forces, what if they don’t let you die? Twelfth and final volume coming in 2004! To send books for review in this column to: Jacqueline Lichtenberg, email jl@simegen.com for instructions. |
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