Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
This is the “life-giving Presence without a name” (4.389). It's barely mentioned in the book, but we thought we'd try to penetrate its mystery here. First, what we know about it.
When Socrates has a heart attack running, Dan attempts to resuscitate him, but seems to have failed. And then:
That's when I felt it—the same Presence I had known many months before. It filled my body. I breathed It; It breathed me. “Please,” I said one last time, “take me instead.” I meant it. And in that moment, I felt a pulse begin to throb in Soc's neck. (7.18)
The next day, Dan visits a recovering Socrates in the hospital, and tells him “The Presence I once felt—it started your heartbeat.” Socrates nods and says, “You were feeling It [...] That was a good lesson” (7.32-35).
That's all that's written about the capital-P Presence. It has something to do with the “Consciousness that observed all, was all” (8.66) which Dan later perceives to be true reality—the fact that the only time is now and the only place is here. What Dan is feeling is the Presence of being present in the moment. And, at least according to this novel, that's really the only way to participate in life.