Though I do that kind of cliffhanger stuff on occasion, that isn't the reason here. My "theory of Toby" merely requires a good deal of groundwork to be laid. And you're right on both counts... he's not in the hierarchy, and Zen/transcending have a role in the explanation.

It just won't be the kind of feel-good Zen/transcending you are probably thinking of (which you should expect, since Toby displays too much misery to be a traditional Enlightened One).

If you are really curious about how I am developing this thread, read Nietzsche's 'Thus Spake Zarathustra'

Venkat