A question from a reader: Where did the name Timshel come from. Is it an anagram?

Answser: Timshel is actually a Hebrew word. It has three possible meanings…. thou must, thou shall, or thou mayest. In Steinbeck’s book, East of Eden, Caleb is like Cain. But did God said to Cain after he killed his brother over jealousy, thou must leave Eden (a command), thou shall leave Eden (his destiny), or thou mayest leave Eden (his choice)? What kind of God do we actually have? One that commands, one that has set everything up ahead of time so we are just playing out a part in a play, or one that has given us the freedom to choose our future actions, so in that way, we choose our destiny? Whatever kind of God you choose of those three possible Gods, that’s who God is. For you.

Timshel’s Choice

Novella. Author: Gary Marks

1968

Genre: Literary Science Fiction

Sub-Genre: Speculative Fable

In a future where physical death has been conquered, Timshel journeys into a mysterious realm called The Beyond seeking to understand existence itself. What he discovers challenges everything humanity knows about time, consciousness, free will, and death itself.

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Synopsis: Timshel’s Choice

Author: Gary Marks

In a future where humanity has scientifically conquered disease and physical death, Timshel leaves behind a civilization that has solved nearly every practical problem. Yet one question remains unanswered: What is the true nature of existence?

Seeking answers, he journeys into a mysterious realm known as The Beyond, where ordinary assumptions about reality begin to unravel. Joined by two companions, a scientist named Lesam and a woman named Abrann, they each pursue their own path toward understanding. Timshel encounters strange worlds, impossible phenomena, and discoveries that challenge everything humanity believes about consciousness, free will, time, memory, identity, and death.

As the journey deepens, the search for knowledge becomes something far more personal. Questions that once seemed philosophical become immediate and unavoidable. What gives meaning to a life that may never truly end, even after the universe itself dies? What is the consequence of a single thought, a single act of love, a single choice? And if every moment of existence matters more than we ever imagined, how should we live?

Part philosophical science fiction, part spiritual fable, Timshel’s Choice is a novel about consciousness, time, reality, and humanity’s search for meaning in a universe far stranger than it appears.