Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”
—Geneses 3:22
William was in a daze. He had just been confronted with the unreal, compounded by the unimaginable. His body was operating on autopilot, and it guided him to the boat without any conscious input of his own. When he regained his senses, he was standing on the pier directly in front of the family boat, looking at it but not really seeing it. He had gained a pardon from being temporarily captive to his subliminal mind. He boarded the boat, almost falling over it. He decided to be still and sit on the rear deck, contemplating with a rational and practical mind his place, if any, in this other-
