The Annotated Afterlife

23. A Soul in the Balance

Title
I may have been thinking of the painting An Angel Protecting a Soul in the Balance from the Devil, by medieval artist Guariento Di Arpo [pictured above]. Not that Dharmayama is a devil by any means, but Marcus is definitely the 'angel' protecting Julian's soul.

Quote
This is from Led Zeppelin's 1973 song, "Stairway to Heaven", which was earlier mentioned as the music in the lift up to the assessment room. The song actually had an important message for Julian, and was not the simple joke it at first appeared. Julian believes that he must either be sent Sideways, or (more likely) back to Earth to be reborn. This is a hint that there may be a third option, and even at this stage, it is still a possibility, for the song says that it is never too late to change direction.

A Pair of Soulmates
When everyone else has been assessed, Chief Justice Dharmayama looks at Julian and Noel, and says it is a very long time since he last had a pair of soulmates to be assessed in the same room, and he hopes history doesn't repeat itself. This is a hint that it was none other than Dharmayama himself who assessed Rudi and Miranda, and separated them. His attitude suggests that he is not entirely happy about the outcome.

Jeannie's Full Name
When Noel's Case Worker announces herself to the judge before Noel's assessment, we discover Jeannie is only a nickname, and her full name is Jeanne-Claudette Jacquettie. This is another gender-flipped Boosh character, because Jean-Claude Jacquettie is mentioned in a song performed in the episode, "The Power of the Crimp", on The Mighty Boosh TV show.

Although he is apparently only mentioned as a play on the word "jackety", he became more fleshed out in stage shows, where he is a French fashion designer. Jeannie likewise is French and very chic.

I did write another book where a character named Jeannie turned out to have a surprising full name (Eugenia). I know this must look deliberate, but I chose their names in completely different ways, and there is no link between them otherwise.

Noel's Assessment
Jeannie makes a spirited submission on Noel's behalf – she's a very different sort of Case Worker to Marcus, being charming, seemingly capricious, and even slightly teasing to the judge. She speaks of Noel's good qualities of being kind, loving, and forgiving; of bringing joy, laughter, and sunshine into the world; and trying to make everyone, no matter how small, feel valued. If I was going to try to save Noel's soul, these are the qualities I would talk about!

Jeannie reveals, as at least one wise reader suspected, that being accommodated at The Rose and Star is not only a reward, but also a test of character. Noel passed with flying colours, because staying at a luxury hotel didn't make him arrogant or entitled, and he was friendly and courteous to both staff and fellow guests alike. (We know that Ronald failed at this final hurdle, and had to go Sideways as a result).

The judge questions Jeannie about Noel's negative traits, but she smartly deflects him, saying that if only perfect people were allowed to go Forward, it would be completely empty. Nobody is perfect, and everyone who has ever gone Forward is flawed and has made mistakes. Even Chief Justice Dharmayama. Let that sink in for a while.

In the end, the judge says that someone as young as Noel, who is an adult but still a teenager, is usually sent Forward, unless there are serious reasons not to do so. To me, this strongly suggests that children are always sent Forward, and underage teenagers nearly always, explaining why we never see them at the Waystation – they do not need to be assessed. It also explains why Miranda went Forward – she was very young.