Gaiman proves his wordsmithing talent there by equating temporal power to spiritual power, though spiritual power can remain hidden. The context of the quote is that Death is talking about Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, the San Francisco personality and Discordian saint. The longer I live, the more convinced I am that Joshua Norton was a Christian saint as well, though I don't know what church would have him.
I once made a pilgrimage to his grave in Colma, back on 05-05-05, after taking the day off from work for religious reasons. While there, I met a young man who claimed to be Norton III, his great grandson. He was a UCSC student who printed his own money and seemed to be really into the Discordian thing in general. Norton III's claimed that his great grandmother was a whore back in the gold rush era, and well, I think we can assume that Salic Law doesn't apply to the Imperial Throne of the United States so an illegitimate heir is A-OK. Whether or not the claim was true, it says a lot that someone would offer that as their own backstory. Or that I would visit the resting place of an impoverished loon who died over a hundred years ago in the first place. But there's something about the way Norton I could see through the illusions of this world that still echoes through the world today.
Edit: Post count 500 is about Discordian stuff, what a surprise!
-- ∇×V
I once made a pilgrimage to his grave in Colma, back on 05-05-05, after taking the day off from work for religious reasons. While there, I met a young man who claimed to be Norton III, his great grandson. He was a UCSC student who printed his own money and seemed to be really into the Discordian thing in general. Norton III's claimed that his great grandmother was a whore back in the gold rush era, and well, I think we can assume that Salic Law doesn't apply to the Imperial Throne of the United States so an illegitimate heir is A-OK. Whether or not the claim was true, it says a lot that someone would offer that as their own backstory. Or that I would visit the resting place of an impoverished loon who died over a hundred years ago in the first place. But there's something about the way Norton I could see through the illusions of this world that still echoes through the world today.
Edit: Post count 500 is about Discordian stuff, what a surprise!
-- ∇×V