Pynch's writing seems to go up another notch at the start of this
section, if that's possible. The quantum jump to a different
location, what he calls a 'lateral resurrection,' could relate to what
physicists call a wormhole:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhole
"Because of its robust theoretical strength, a wormhole is also known
as one of the great physics metaphors for teaching general relativity.
"
The poetic image a wormhole suggests relates to the very evocative,
and accurate to my experience, metaphor (or metaphive :-) of 'Cameling
along by night' through the desert. Also to the subdesertine frigate
the crew then travel in.
p. 433 - water from an oasis is much preferred by travelers over aryq
and hasheesh as "a facilitator of passage between the worlds."
"Aryq" doesn't show up in a google search, perhaps he coined it?
p. 434 has some great advice starting with:
"Only way a man can hang on to his wits ..."
These pages tour Chapel Perilous in some places.
Discussion of Shambhala, and a sacred city recalls a recent blog I
wrote about Woody Allen's film, Midnight in Paris.
Penultimate paragraph p. 435 also carries excellent advice.