Where the Name Timshel Comes From

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

Answer: Timshel is a Hebrew word. In John Steinbeck’s book, East of Eden, one of the main characters discusses the fact that the word has three possible meanings: thou must, thou shall, or thou mayest.

In biblical terms, Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. God uses the word timshel and tells Cain either: you must overcome sin (a command), you will overcome sin (his destiny), or you may overcome sin (his choice).

So what kind of God is the bible alluding to? 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 make our own decisions, and in that way, choose our own destiny?

Timshel, the character in my book, tries to turn what he believes is “you shall” into “you may,” then chooses.

Timshel's Choice

Novella. Author: Gary Marks

Begun in 1968; completed and released in 2026.

Genre: Literary Science Fiction

Sub-Genre: Speculative Fable

In a future world where physical death has been conquered, Timshel journeys to 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.

Read Timshel’s Choice:

A Future Without Disease or Death

In a future world 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. Timshel is 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 which challenge everything humanity believes about consciousness, free will, time, memory, and death.

As the journey deepens, the search for knowledge becomes something more personal. If we live in a “block universe,” where time has no movement from past to future, what gives meaning to a life that may never truly begin or end for anyone in any reality, even after the universe has an ending? 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 because it will continue to exist with no permanent ending, how should we live, and how infinitely important is our next thought and next decision?

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