In
Tom Robbins' book "
Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates", Today is Tomorrow is the
shaman of the
Kandankero tribe, a group of native
Peruvians who live in the jungle and have never been able to laugh. "Today is Tomorrow" is a
loose translation of his name. An even more loose translation of his name is "
End of Time". But what really makes this shaman remarkable, other than his knowledge of
consciousness-expanding herbs and seeming ability to place
taboos on people, is his head. It's shaped like a true
pyramid.
Today is Tomorrow believes that the secret to true enlightenment is the combination of his tribe's affinity with nature, and the "white man's" ability to laugh. He struggles to discover the secret of laughter, and emulates it. I can imagine few things as disturbing as the thought of someone who doesn't understand laughter hollowly laughing for me.
The rest of this node will contain spoiler information for those intending to read the book. Today is Tomorrow puts a taboo on the main character, Switters, that he may never touch the ground with his feet again, lest he die immediately. The efficacy of his taboos is demonstrated when Potney Smythe attempts to break a similar taboo placed on him, not to touch another man's genitalia. Upon testing this, he promptly dies of an apparent coronary.
Today is Tomorrow becomes entranced with Switters' grandmother's parrot, who can sqawk "People of ze world, Relax!" He appreciates the phrase, and it becomes representative of his philosophy in life.
The effectiveness of his curse, whether real or psychosomatic, is apparently diminished by his death at the hands of an anaconda. His tribe manages to rescue his head and place it in a pyramid-shaped cage, as a memorial to him.