 The shortened title seems more obviously appropriate in that its lack of specificity allows it to do double duty in serving as a metaphor symbolizing the irreversible effects of the various life-altering events that occur within the orbits of the main characters.As with many of the principal characters in Dick's unpublished non-SF novels, Jim Briskin shows up again in several later novels and stories, such as "The Crack in Space".For the most part, these are not actual sequels, but rather are an example of Dick re-using a carefully crafted character from a book that was unlikely ever to be published.