VALIS v VANTA: 2 STRANGE ACRONYMS ENTER — NONE LEAVE

Everyone who's read Philip K. Dick's great 1981 novel "VALIS" knows that the title is an acronym for Vast Active Living Intelligence System.

Just kidding.

Nobody remembers that.

Likewise, the few who've read Sam Abughali's "VANTA," published last month (on April 13, for those who insist on more precision), will recall that it stands for Virtual Adaptive Neural Transfer Array.

Doesn't matter.

What does matter is the bizarro concordance between Abughali's novel and the name of my beloved calico cat, VANTA.

I mean, come on: I named my cat in September 2022 after adopting her as a three-month old kitten from an animal shelter.

I chose the name because of my fascination with Vantablack.

But I digress.

Who knows how long the author of "VANTA" was working on his novel, and when he named his time machine VANTA?

What matters is that he did.

Our lives intersected then and there, or at least they were on track to do so.

I've long contended that coincidence is a glimpse of the scaffolding of reality.

This latest incident has done nothing to alter that belief.