Revival

“But sometimes a person who fits none of these categories comes into your life. This is the joker who pops out of the deck at odd intervals over the years, often during a moment of crisis. In the movies this sort of character is known as the fifth business, or the change agent. When he turns up in a film, you know he’s there because the screenwriter put him there. But who is screenwriting our lives? Fate or coincidence? I want to believe it’s the latter. I want that with all my heart and soul. When I think of Charles Jacobs—my fifth business, my change agent, my nemesis—I can’t bear to believe his presence in my life had anything to do with fate. It would mean that all these terrible things—these horrors—were meant to happen. If that is so, then there is no such thing as light, and our belief in it is a foolish illusion. If that is so, we live in darkness like animals in a burrow, or ants deep in their hill.

And not alone.”

In this passage, Jamie not only establishes Charles Jacobs as the antagonist of his story but also foreshadows the end of the novel by describing fate as a sign that terrible powers beyond human comprehension exist. He also introduces the image of the ant, hinting at the role this symbol will play throughout the narrative.

“‘God said, Let there be light, and there was light, and the light was good.’ Only I’m not God, so I have to depend on electricity. Which is wonderful stuff, Jamie. Such a gift from God that it makes us feel godlike every time we flip a switch, wouldn’t you say?”

King uses this passage to characterize Jacobs through his passion for electrical engineering. As a pastor, Jacobs is drawn to anything that brings him closer to God. In this case, harnessing electricity makes him feel godlike, which also hints at one of the major themes of the novel, The Dangers of Curiosity.

“That’s science, and science is fine, but it’s also finite. There always comes a point where knowledge runs out. What are electrons, exactly? Charged atoms, the scientists say. Okay, that’s fine as far as it goes, but what are atoms? […] No one really knows! And that’s where religion comes in. Electricity is one of God’s doorways to the infinite.”

Jacobs uses science to augment his ministry, arguing that there is a holistic way to understand the universe that marries science and faith. He points out that science is ultimately finite but allows people to find their way to God, developing the theme of The Dynamics of Science and Faith. This foreshadows Jacobs’s final experiment, where he uses electricity to open the door to the world beyond life; however, this “doorway to the infinite” does not reveal the benevolent deity Jacobs expects.