Behold the Man

Karl Glogauer, a disillusioned and deeply troubled man from the 20th century, embarks on a desperate journey through time, utilizing a experimental time machine to seek out the historical Jesus Christ. Driven by a profound spiritual and intellectual crisis, Glogauer arrives in ancient Palestine in 29 AD, only to be confronted with a reality far more unsettling than he could have imagined. Instead of the charismatic figure he anticipated, he discovers a mentally incapacitated individual named Jeshua, a 'drooling idiot' living in obscurity. This shocking revelation shatters Glogauer's preconceptions and leaves him grappling with the profound vacuum created by Jeshua's inability to fulfill his prophesied role. In a desperate and perhaps deluded attempt to make sense of his own existence and the universe, Glogauer makes the audacious, almost sacrilegious, decision to step into the role himself, meticulously recreating the life and teachings of Christ as he understands them from his future perspective. Moorcock's novella is a provocative exploration of faith, identity, and the fluid nature of history, questioning the very foundations of belief and the power of human narrative to shape destiny.