Sloat views the Talisman “not as a key, but a door; a locked door standing between him and his destiny. He did not want to open that door but to destroy it, destroy it utterly and completely and eternally, so it could never be shut again, let alone locked” (654). During the earthquake, Jack thinks, “It was not just the axle of all possible worlds, but the worlds themselves—the worlds, and the spaces between those worlds” (699). It is impossible to define exactly what the Talisman is, but it is a physical object that Jack uses to heal his mother, Speedy, and Richard. It is also what he uses to defeat Sloat and Sunlight Gardener. It is part of the universe, but it also contains universes within itself, a paradox in keeping with the ideal of infinite realities, all influencing each other.

The two poles of Jack’s quest are the Alhambra Inn, on the east coast, and the Black Hotel on the coast of California. The Alhambra is a symbol of Lily’s former happiness. She and Phil celebrated there after her Academy Award nomination for Blaze. When the novel begins, the hotel is a symbol of her decrepitude, and of Jack’s lack of stability.