I've been reading "The Years of Rice and Salt" by Kim Stanley Robinson here lately, and it's got me thinking.

It's one of those fantastical alternate history novels, and it's actually really good.

One of the core concepts of the novel is the Islamic (I think) idea of the jati.

According to the book, the jati is a family of souls, that will travel with each other from one incarnation to the next, and that the souls can only rise or fall on the cosmic scale of souls as a group.

I may be paraphrasing slightly.

anyway, I've been thinking about this, especially since there are some people I meet and within one or two good conversations, I feel like I've known them for forever.

Some of them I've never met in person.

It's just that when some of my best friends are people I've never met...

Some of the stories in the book show even more improbably ways of the members of that particular jati meeting up in each life.

Like the Chinese ships and the Native American girl, for instance.

So... it kinda makes me think about this, and how maybe the idea isn't so far off from what happens.

What do you think, before I confuse myself?