Thus, the first day of creation. And his ruminations conjure up a setting, sights, sounds, a paradisaical ballpark. Waugh talks to himself in different voices as he plays, and these voices become independent people. God turns schizoid, giving up bits of himself that his creatures may live, and also that they may interest him. As the players become conscious and separate, they become also contentious and political.
History is now ready to roll.
The Universal Baseball Association is soon a full-blown society, complete with ballads and a sex life, culture and continuity, even obituaries. Yet nothing moves it except the throw of the dice. By the time the novel opens, we have already had a Golden Age, and the game is in the doldrums. The players in his head are bored and restless. But fate turns ugly.