Человек в высоком замке

           Whichwashesupposedtofollow?

           Andhowcouldtheybesodifferent?Ithadneverhappenedtohimbefore,goodfortuneanddoommixedtogetherintheoracle’sprophecy;whataweirdfate,asiftheoraclehadscrapedthebottomofthebarrel,tossedupeverysortofrag,bone,andturdofthedark,thenreverseditselfandpouredinthelightlikeacookgonebarmy.Imusthavepressedtwobuttonsatonce,hedecided;jammedtheworksandgotthisschlimazl’seyeviewofreality.Justforasecond—fortunately.Didn’tlast.

           Hell,hethought,ithastobeoneortheother;itcan’tbeboth.Youcan’thavegoodfortuneanddoomsimultaneously.

           Or…canyou?

           Thejewelrybusinesswillbringgoodfortune;thejudgmentreferstothat.Buttheline,thegoddamline;itreferstosomethingdeeper,somefuturecatastropheprobablynotevenconnectedwiththejewelrybusiness.Someevilfatethat’sinstoreformeanyhow…

           War!hethought.ThirdWorldWar!Allfriggingtwobillionofuskilled,ourcivilizationwipedout.Hydrogenbombsfallinglikehail.

           Oygewalt!hethought.What’shappening?DidIstartitinmotion?Orissomeoneelsetinkering,someoneIdon’tevenknow?Or—thewholelotofus.It’sthefaultofthosephysicistsandthatsynchronicitytheory,everyparticlebeingconnectedwitheveryother;youcan’tfartwithoutchangingthebalanceintheuniverse.Itmakeslivingafunnyjokewithnobodyaroundtolaugh.IopenabookandgetareportonfutureeventsthatevenGodwouldliketofileandforget.