I think it was Annette or Brad who came up with the term “bobble” for The Bridge from OneDayBow, but it was definitely Brad who told me I spelled it wrong! If you try to look up bobble in the dictionary you won’t find it there. But if you try bauble, you may find its definition to be “a worthless showy trinket.” While a bobble could fit that description, they are certainly valued in HereAndNow.

If you have made it as far as Chapter 1, you already have some important clues about the bobbles in HereAndNow. Let me list some for easy reference:

Bobbles are readily available to most
The tempters are chief agents in bobble promotion
Some people have more bobbles than others
Certain traits or abilities are rewarded with more bobbles
The bobble-rich are more esteemed and successful
Bobbles offer fulfillment, fame and cheer! (So the tempters say)
Security appears to comes with possession
Competition is a big aspect of bobble collecting
Bobble accumulation is a life-long endeavor that not all enjoy
You may even get the idea “you can take them with you when you go”
But, you can’t miss that bobbles are subject to deterioration

Are bobbles really important to the future of all humanity? And can the collection of bobbles, and expansion of the tower, really get them past heaven? And why is it that there’s something tempters seem to place a greater value on than bobbles?

Is it, as they say, all about the bobbles?
Or in the bigger picture, are they actually baubles?