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I would also love to see Clute's essays. "Strokes" was at one time in the list from Amazon.com, but they lost touch with Serconia Press when it (apparently) moved. So Clute think…
21 Jan 1998, 17:21
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The sinister interpretation of "Westwind" is entirely in keeping with the religious one. Christianity can be (and has been) called "the opiate of the people" and "a religion for s…
13 Oct 1997, 09:26
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Rostrum, Nutria, alga, et al., I'd have to disagree slightly with the Rodent of Unusual Size. Don't read Smith in the chronological order set out in the NESFA books (but do buy t…
12 Sep 1997, 09:18
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According to a friend of mine who is a anthropologist, the "animal" names look "vaguely Algonkian, the languages which were spoken over much of the northeast (Micma, Abnaki, Massac…
25 Aug 1997, 10:07
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I'd like to thank Gene for his forbearance and kindness in answering our question trains. If this is the last one, so be it -- few authors would be nice enough to do this at all, …
13 Jul 1997, 15:48
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Rose's Parts: The question arose recently of where Maytera Rose's parts came from. (Xiphias apparently got parts from five different chems to make his artificial leg). Well, when…
02 Jul 1997, 13:40
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Here are possible additional cars for the train. In the interest of having a full cargo, I am happy to donate any of them to someone temporarily bereft of puzzlement. "Mint state…
23 Jun 1997, 09:30
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A great mixture of bland revelation and sneaky evasion, I must say! [Mantis, having recently reread _The Fifth Head of Cerberus_, I must report the discovery that Wolfe was callin…
15 Jun 1997, 17:12
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mantis, You may ask my question (about Pike's revenant) in any form you like. Feel free to add the "Quetzal" addition. An alternate question if you want to use alga's instead: "…
16 May 1997, 14:17
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This is like being a kid in a candy store, but with only one quarter to spend! "Was what Silk saw in the manteion Pike's ghost, or an aquastor, or what?" and "What about..." No,…
14 May 1997, 09:07
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Joel (et al.), Auguries: Do we ever witness an augury (not just a sacrifice) conducted by anyone other than Silk? His predictions are both accurate and "obvious" (in that they c…
11 May 1997, 11:47
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A random thought while driving to work this morning. Perhaps the event that caused Mint to give up her secular life and become a sibyl was a possession by Kypris, perhaps even a d…
09 May 1997, 09:18
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South to North. If a floater tries to go north too fast it smashes into the ground, if south, it floats too high. (_Calde_, p. 318). (I'm not certain I completely buy into the p…
04 May 1997, 12:22
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Xury, If I read you right, I think you're wrong... Think of the whorl as a soup can. The "east" and "west" ends of the whorl correspond to the top and bottom of the can. Run a …
02 May 1997, 12:07
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Some elucidation on the Trivigaunti language, courtesy of my cousin Bob, who works for Aramco in Saudi Arabia: "'ishsh" (Get going?) -- not familiar. "khush" means "go in," or "en…
28 Apr 1997, 09:49
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mantis and xury speculate whether Silk may have been in the corridors in III, 290 (ch. 8). My guess is that this is a dream -- the same blue tunic that Silk takes from the house w…
18 Apr 1997, 11:36
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*** Talon's questions, and some attempts at answers: "Why is Viron colder than Triviguante?" (IV, 79) Viron is colder than Triviguante for two reasons. One is that Lake Limna is …
18 Apr 1997, 11:10
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I was thinking it might be interesting to make a list of the major mysteries (or at least controversies) about the _Long Sun_ books. mantis did a nice (if typically oracular) one …
11 Apr 1997, 10:10
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mantis sez: Actually, I thought _I_ came up with that one. Like Lasrach, I am curious about the limits of inhumu shapeshifting. Could Q disguise himself as Pike? We don't get mu…
11 Apr 1997, 09:44
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Lasrach, This is an interesting theory, but I don't see any evidence for it. In fact, we get continual clues about Q's appearance. His neck is unnaturally long and wrinkled, his p…
10 Apr 1997, 09:20
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This is a wonderful find. We come to realize later that Rose identifies herself with Echidna, and possibly has been possessed by Echidna. I suspect we are seeing Rose-as-Echidna kn…
09 Apr 1997, 10:22
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Tells: "Tells" are in general cities buried by the subsequent human history of the site. In Mesopotamia in particular, this is because the cities were built of mud brick, which m…
04 Apr 1997, 09:44
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I think Tick is most likely male. I believe a Trivigaunti (Saba?) calls the catachrest "she" at one point, but that would be expected, wouldn't it? I don't think we know as much …
26 Mar 1997, 09:19
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While I was trolling for Tickisms, I found two quotes that I think are very interesting. Just thought I'd fly them by everyone. (1) "Silk found he was staring up at her; she smi…
24 Mar 1997, 09:32
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Here's a compendium of everything Tick says (that I could find, mind you). Most of it is pretty easy to decipher, especially in context, but a few I'm not sure of have question ma…
24 Mar 1997, 09:19
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Typhon almost certainly rules more than one world. The population of the Whorl may well come from several colony worlds, not just Urth. We also don't know for sure that the Sleep…
19 Mar 1997, 17:43
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Nessus: (Off-topic for Whorl) There's far more to the Commonwealth and Nessus being in South America than just mate. 1) It's in the southern hemisphere. 2) It's near extensive gr…
19 Mar 1997, 09:36
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Speaking of "add word," has anyone else noted that Tick's speech is always perfectly good words? I think there's one exception that I remember noticing. It's amusing that Wolfe c…
17 Mar 1997, 08:53
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Don't forget Wick. Mentioned by Quetzal in _Calde_, p. 156. I don't recall seeing an "Urbis," just "Urbs." Other than Palustria and Trivigaunte, all these cities look like they …
28 Feb 1997, 17:40
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I find it interesting that at one point the writings are referred to as the "Charismatic Writings." Probably a typo, but it leads me to wonder, what does "chrasmologic" mean? It …
27 Feb 1997, 17:24
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Xury, Another explanation for Quetzal knowing so much is that he's in contact with other cities, and presumably has a spy network of his own. See one of my previous posts for a p…
27 Feb 1997, 10:48
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mantis, I co-wrote _Zork I_, _Zork II_, _Zork III_, and _Enchanter_ with Marc Blank. I wrote _Starcross_, _Spellbreaker_, _Suspect_, _The Lurking Horror_, and _Shogun_ on my own.…
26 Feb 1997, 11:09
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I'll try to mend my ways with some page numbers and actual quotes for a change: On the gods being active before Mamelta's repairs (_Calde_, p.156): [Quetzal explaining to Silk:] …
25 Feb 1997, 20:45
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alga, I think you're wrong about the gods being turned off. First, the Trivigauntis do talk to Sphigx, or at least they think they do. The relevant quote is when Siyuf or Saba i…
25 Feb 1997, 17:04
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mantis, Not to blow my own horn, but I wrote _Starcross_, the Infocom game you mention. It was modelled most explicitly on _Rendezvous with Rama_. The idea was that the generatio…
25 Feb 1997, 09:18
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alga: How do you square this with the claim by the Trivigauntis that they talk to Sphigx all the time? I get a little worried when _everything_ isn't what it seems. I think only…
24 Feb 1997, 12:34
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A key to the uncharacteristically benevolent nature of Pas and some of the other gods is in Kypris's explanation of possession. I can't quote it exactly, but she says that after b…
20 Feb 1997, 09:22
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I first encountered Wolfe in Damon Knight's _Orbit_ collections. At the time I wasn't terribly impressed. I vaguely recall thinking "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" was overwritten and…
14 Feb 1997, 09:44
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Revised Timeline: -300+: Maytera Marble "born." -300: _Whorl_ launched. -100: (approximately) _Whorl_ arrives in Blue/Green system. -94: Maytera Rose born, based on Blood's estim…
13 Feb 1997, 09:27
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I agree with mantis that Loris (or Lemur, or one of the other prosimians) is a prime possibility for Blood's father. Another might be Quetzal's unnamed predecessor as Head of the …
12 Feb 1997, 11:07
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mantis, I'll have to do some more research if I'm to come up with a list. I think what I was referring to was more Silk's habit, whenever anything happens, of coming up with an im…
11 Feb 1997, 09:23
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mantis, I've reread the segment you referenced [I, 217], and now I see your point. For those who don't have the books directly at hand, Quetzal's reference to Silk's name being w…
10 Feb 1997, 10:00
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mantis, that was me, not algae. I reread the passage [III, 6 in the paperback edition], and aside from it not giving an exact wording of what was written, I don't see any problem …
07 Feb 1997, 10:13
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[Mucor] I've checked out the two references that mantis gave on Mucor's parentage, and sorry, I don't buy it. Both are in exactly the form that implies a caring or proprietary re…
06 Feb 1997, 17:00
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<< New Sun, Urth of the New Sun Spoilers ahead >> I'd like to raise an issue that has actually troubled me ever since _The Urth of the New Sun_ was published, which is the timing …
05 Feb 1997, 10:38
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I'll definitely have to spend some time carefully reading all the recent posts before replying in detail; there's a lot to absorb. I hope I can find the time! In the meantime, I'…
05 Feb 1997, 09:58
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Wow. Oodles of speculation recently. Everyone must have rested up over the weekend. Maybe even two oodles. [Hyacinth] I haven't seen any indication that Hyacinth was possessed…
04 Feb 1997, 09:58
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Great to see you here. _Lexicon_ is my favorite meta-book. Now, there's a provocative question! I'm pretty sure he's human, not a hierogrammate larva, for example. It _is_ inter…
31 Jan 1997, 09:41
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Well, if you mean Oreb, he denied it, and I trust him. Dave Lebling (david_lebling at avid.com) Questions or problems to whorl-owner at lists.best.com…
29 Jan 1997, 16:35
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1) Charles Dye suggests that Patera Pike's ghost may have been an aquastor, which is a beguiling interpretation, particularly as it would strengthen the feeling that we are still i…
27 Jan 1997, 16:09
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