Why is some of the information about “Marduk,” received through ITC, similar to SciFi “Riverworld” novels by Philip José Farmer? The similarities have stirred up a lot of debate and conspiracy theory over the years.
I have ITC information about the riverine world “Marduk” spread throughout the comments on this site (and on some of my other websites), along with explanations of why I believe the similarities exist… but until now I didn’t post an article on the subject here on this site, so that all the information can be easily found with a simple search on “jose farmer” or “riverworld.”
Over the years I’ve become more and more confident in and certain of my explanations, so here’s an article that sums it all up. I suppose this article is long overdue.
It’s all about the similarities between the spirit world called Marduk that our spirit friends in ITC described to us (which today I accept as true)… and the “Riverworld” described by Philip José Farmer in his novels, especially To Your Scattered Bodies Go… which I accept as good, compelling fiction based on true situations. At the end of the article I’ll explain how I separate truth from fiction, and why I consider some of Farmer’s writing to be “based on true situations.”
Farmer Books
Here’s a link to all of the books by Philip José Farmer:
Timestream Contacts
Here are several links to the information we received from Timestream about “Marduk,” which you’re welcome to review. It’s a lot more detailed than the Farmer books, and it’s just a sampling of the information we received from our spirit friends at Timestream. (Yes, there are a few similarities with the Farmer materials, and I’ll explain why in a moment.) So, here’s the free information (again, which I accept as fact, except where I indicate otherwise, for example, when I’m making speculations):
- Exploring with Burton (part of a series of 4 articles)
- Inside Timestream (also part of the series of 4 articles)
- The afterlife experience of Sir Richard Francis Burton
- Marduk and the Third Level
- Fantastic Arrivals to the Third Level
- Spirit Groups at the Third Level
- Contact! Journal (see page 12)
- Comments here on macyafterlife: examples here… and here….
Conspiracies
Now, here are links to some of the self-described “conspiracies” that have spun out of the similarities:
- Strangemag
- Paranormal Conspiracy
- Talking To the Dead
- DarkLore (search on “farmer” using Ctrl+F)
- Controversy on the old chatroom at worlditc (search on “farmer” using Ctrl+F)
Why the Similarities? Why the Conspiracy Claims?
The most likely explanation for the similarities (the one I believe to be true, based on contacts we received through ITC systems) is that the spirit world Marduk or Eden is a spiritual template of a physical planet that once circled our sun in a regular orbit between Mars and Jupiter. The superhuman inhabitants of Marduk died in the explosion (their technologies actually caused it), and the only survivors were colonists on Earth who became marooned here. We today can trace our lineage back to those superhumans some 4 billion years ago.
Many of the people who die on Earth awaken in the paradise spirit world Marduk (Eden). Since its physical counterpart-planet Marduk (before the explosion) was the birthplace of humanity in this solar system, we today still have spiritual roots in the spirit world Marduk.
Because of that intimate human connection and our ties to Eden, many people living on Earth get “glimpses” of the spirit world Marduk in their dreams and meditations, including Farmer I suspect. The Timestream spirit group say they live in the Marduk spirit world. The messages and images they have sent us I consider to be nearly 100 percent reliable, since the information came to us through our electronic devices mostly unfiltered by carnal human minds… unlike channeled material coming through dreams and meditations and trances, which is always filtered to some degree by the human minds.
It’s no surprise, then (if you believe that scenario), that our ITC messages about Marduk are similar to information received mentally by sensitive people like Farmer.
Even so, the information boggles many minds, and some skeptics with a rigid vision or limited understanding sometimes see these similarities as justification to reject various researchers and their research. Many of the skeptics are caught up in the material (neo-Newtonian) cosmology of modern science, in which…
- There was no physical planet called Marduk.
- There were no humans 4 billion years ago.
- There is no spirit world called Marduk or Eden.
- There are no spirits.
If you have a mind of a conventional scientist or a skeptic, and if you believe those four bullet points above, then the reality of Marduk (Eden) and its similarities to Farmer’s “Riverworld” might be difficult to reconcile, and might seem like a conspiracy.
Macy Afterlife: The Beacon 
Mark,
I think it is so fantastic that you wrote this! I strongly believe that Philip Jose Farmer’s thought patterns were influenced by the 3rd level, which ultimately led to his novels. He was getting glimpses of our spiritual heritage from Marduk, and probably chalked it up to nothing more than his own creative mind, as opposed to realizing that he was getting some strong (and quite frankly amazing) impressions of our spirit reality.
Philip Jose Farmer never realized how valuable those visions really were. He remained tunnel-visioned in the sense that his only focus was to create more and more novels. His earthly path was simply to be an author. And also – just another thought – with regard to some of his more darker-themed novels – could they contain any parallels to the dense shadow worlds that exist close to our world?
Ricky
My thoughts exactly. 🙂
Thanks Ricky.
My mind keeps wandering back to the Farmer scenarios when the fellow (Burton, I believe) keeps drowning and dying and waking up in different places along the river. And the carnal romance he has with a young woman who finds herself also in that frontier world, and the battles they have with others over some fort… and i think there’s a steamboat involving his buddy Mark Twain.
It’s been years since I read those books, probably in the early 2000s when there were all those accusations of similarities and I wanted to see what the controversy was about. I let all the Farmer stuff simmer slowly in my mind to see how it eventually fit together with the stuff that my colleague Maggy in Europe had received from Timestream in the 1990s. If she and her husband Jules had read the Farmer books, I wondered if their impressions affected the composition of the Timestream spirit group, and if so to what degree. By then I was no longer in close touch with the couple because of the accusations and counter-accusations that had torn INIT apart (with a LOT of help from troubled spirits who like to stir things up, I’m now certain).
I’m rambling a bit, so bear with me.
In any case, the simmering in my mind has continued over the years, and I’ve become more and more confident that this (how you explain it, and how I explain it in the above article) is the truth of the matter. I still have some unanswered questions in my mind though.
I’ve come to think of the third level as a place where communities of people serve each other and live in peace, based on what i “saw” in Timestream and in their interactions and communications with our INIT group. A drama-free existence. That harmony is at odds with the Farmer scenarios of dramas and battles going on as usual over there as they go on over here on Earth. To this day, I’m not sure if Farmer in his mind created those dramas because you can’t have novels without dramas, or if there really is some contention over on the third level that Timestream tried to insulate our INIT group from for the sake of harmony, and a coherent contact field. Or maybe Burton gravitated to dramatic encounters (conflicts) on the third level because he was so accustomed to them during lifetime on Earth. Maybe before he met Swejen Salter, who calmed him down into a more civilized lifestyle working as a part-time explorer for Timestream, maybe he was looking for trouble in all the wrong places. 🙂 Picking fights, etc., which made his life on the third level tenuous at best.
This is all speculation on my part, as my mind keeps simmering and trying to get all the puzzle pieces fitting together. Comparing those scenarios to my own dreams, when I carry some of my own worldly dramas over to the other side and people there sometimes have to put up with my antics, which seem to me like normal moments of anger or fear or suspicion, but what they seem to view (usually calmly) as my inner torment.
As I said, I’m rambling, but I think these are all pieces of the puzzle that I’m trying to put together before I go over there for good. 🙂
Mark
Ricky, I need to add… it’s important to me to have people like you to bounce ideas off of. People with an open mind and curious spirit. Lots of people on Earth have strong egos that make them think ‘I want answers and I want them now, and if you don’t have answers you must be a fraud.’ It sometimes takes me a long time to figure things out and then try to make the right decision. Drives my wife Regina nuts sometimes, but there it is. Fortunately she’s learned to adapt to my pace… 🙂
Mark,
It is a truly fascinating question to ask, in a nutshell – to what extent did Burton really seek “drama” in the third world? That is, how accurate is Farmer in depicting him as an adventurous and drama-seeking soul? I wouldn’t be surprised if Burton did have some initial adventures when he was in the exploratory phase of his new surroundings when he arrived on Marduk. However, it makes sense to me that Swejen Salter would have brought him under her wing initially, where she could introduce him to more noble-minded endeavors such as the Timestream Spirit Group. I can’t find the exact quote, but I believe Salter did say something to the effect of “if you do not harbor good intentions, you will not be here very long” – with the “here” being Marduk. Could Salter have essentially prevented Burton from allowing his vibrations to drop him out of the third level? It feels like only Timestream can answer these questions. With an adventurous soul such as Burton, and a sheltered, centered and focused soul such as Salter, it seems to be the spiritual “odd-couple”!
I am always open to hearing new ideas! The reality of humanity’s spiritual heritage just seems to be too much for the majority of the population to accept, but once one is able to go through even just a little bit of the vast ocean of information that is available from INIT’s communications a couple decades ago, the wheels do start turning and one starts to open themselves to the possibilities that their spiritual home is even more amazing than they could originally have anticipated based on formerly-held biases.
Ricky
Ricky,
Yes, as I recall, it’s almost as though some divine matchmaking happened when Swejen Salter died on her home planet and awakened on Marduk. She’d had an unhappy life married to an abusive man, apparently. So when she awakened in the next life she was greeted by Burton. The two apparently felt committed to provide each other with what they had been missing. For Burton it was being part of a thriving, cohesive team working on an important project. For Salter it was being loved, respected, and protected. In other words, I guess, the two fell in love.*
That’s my speculation, based on the contacts that were received from Swejen and Sir Richard over the years.
I remember that quote about harboring good intentions. It’s here:
https://macyafterlife.com/2014/02/09/life-on-the-mid-astral-plane-or-third-level-2/
Mark
* I sometimes wonder what “love” feels like on the other side, when hormones aren’t part of the mix. Here on Earth, our desire to help, support, and serve our lover or spouse is balanced or offset by our burning itch to get into each other’s pants. Timestream tells us that two people on the third level can have sexual intercourse if they’re both interested in doing so… but the clear implication is that sex isn’t a strong driving force there as it is here in these carnal, hormonal physical bodies. (Another piece of the puzzle, I guess.)
Mark,
It is quite a complicated existence here on earth, to be sure! Also, this is a little off-subject, but I was wondering if you had ever heard of Roberta Grimes. What a wonderful person. I listened to her most recent appearance on Coast to Coast AM and her research seems to very much confirm the most important, core information that was learned by INIT – particularly what the third level is like. The detail that she provides – for example, that Elvis still remains on the third level to this day, doing performances for his fans that continue to come home to the third level. (Elvis apparently plans to move on once all of his fans have come home and have had a chance to listen to him once more). I even found an old forum thread where she was recommending your Spirit Faces book! She talks about the concert hall, where you can literally see the music, and these vibrant, spectacular colors that are produced when the instruments are being played.
Was just wondering if you have heard of her – her interview with George Noory, which seemed to confirm many details of the third level, was absolutely delightful.
Ricky
Hi Ricky,
I think Roberta was mentioned to me in an email or in one of these comments a year or two ago, so I googled her to learn that, yes, she is doing good work to promote interest in the afterlife. She’s also involved with Craig Hogan’s good efforts (AREI).
Mark
Come to think of it, when Roberta Grimes was first mentioned to me, I googled her and learned she was a lawyer… which instantly put my on guard, having had bad experiences with lawyers. It’s kind of like getting stung by a bee. One part of you just doesn’t like them, even while the other part of you knows of the indispensable role and good work they do in the bigger scheme of things. Being human isn’t easy, especially when it comes to rising above the bee-stings of life to let the love shine through.
And that, I think, is the key to future ITC research. Overcoming our human frailties and judgments of each other while tuning into our finer self, where we can achieve genuine resonance with each other. Not an easy task.
Mark
So let me state for the record 🙂 , God bless Roberta Grimes and the good work she’s doing for ITC, and God bless Victor Zammit and every lawyer in the world whose “hearts are in the right place.”
In fact, God help me feel tolerance and love for every human being… since, essentially, we’re all in the same boat. (Again, not an easy task, but probably a proper creed for ITC research… along with a relentless effort to resonate… to sustain harmony with each other through inner work… to overcome our bee-stings and to find peace.)
Hello Mark,
I agree with your reasoning for the similarities between Marduk (the planet) and Philip José Farmer’s Riverworld books. The inspiration and inventiveness exhibited by certain people have divine origins, I believe. Given that notion it’s reasonable to believe that Farmer was a medium/psychic/sensitive. The themes and settings in his books were more than likely channeled from a higher source.
Have you ever entertained the possibility that the phenomenon of synchronicity could be responsible for some of the similarities as well? I experience extreme (and multiple) instances of synchronicity on a daily basis now. This uncanny relationship between aspects of my own life and the people and things that populate my reality. I’ll say or do something specific, for example, and my words or actions will be mirrored elsewhere in my external reality multiple times (minutes or days after the fact) by people or other elements. I’ve also been seeing triple number strings (111-999) relentlessly for a number of years now. Perhaps 10-30 occurrences a week. There’s certainly significance to it. I believe synchronicity is a demonstration of the divine interconnectedness between all things in creation.
I’ve also been meaning to ask you what your thoughts are on the origins of the name “Marduk”. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Marduk was also the name of a Babylonian god/deity from ancient Mesopotamia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marduk
This deity was also astrologically associated with the planet Jupiter. Do you think there’s any connection between “Marduk” the god and “Marduk” the planet? And I know we’ve conversed on this subject before in comments over the last few years, but what role (if any) do you believe that other alien races (the reptilians, the Pleiadians, etc.) played in the creation of Earth and the history of the human race? I have some other things I wanted to discuss with you as well, but I’ll save them for an email. I hope you’re well.
All The Best,
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy, I absolutely agree… synchronicities are often choreographed by spirit friends.
And yes, I think there’s a connection between Marduk (the spirit world), Marduk (a planet between Mars and Jupiter that exploded some 4 billion years ago), and the Babylonian deity Marduk (probably named after that planet whose superhuman inhabitants were our earliest ancestors). I mention these hypotheses at various places here, including…
https://macyafterlife.com/2016/01/01/the-latest-news-about-our-ancient-past/
https://macyafterlife.com/2011/10/30/the-human-story-2-physical-life-and-spiritual-life/
and on my other site…
https://noblesavageworld.com/2014/03/02/protecting-earth-from-the-wrath-of-marduk/
I suspect science will someday soon discover (and acknowledge) all sorts of extraterrestrial physical beings roaming around our material universe, many of whom affected the development of humanity along the way.
Warm wishes,
Mark
After reading your article Mark and the responses to it, I’m reminded of what I read in one of your books. (I’m paraphrasing here)… What we think and do here, influences the third level.