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Yes, exactly. I meant "sci-fi," with the scare quotes. Do you prefer "sf"? The question is the same. Why create a "cyclical iterations of the same creation that keeps playing ou…
15 Dec 2010, 23:23
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Scary! --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Matthew Weber <palaeologos at gmail.com> wrote: From: Matthew Weber <palaeologos at gmail.com> Subject: Re: (urth) christ, already To: "The Urth Mail…
15 Dec 2010, 21:49
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Hey, you're the one who said Outsider=Christ. And no, Christians do not "use Christ interchangeably with God." Even I know that. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at bu…
15 Dec 2010, 21:48
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I mean "similar," i.e., identical except for key differences. That is, in the usual sci-fi sense that most people understand. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butche…
15 Dec 2010, 21:46
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I assume Lee refers to salvation-after-death. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote: From: Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> Subject: …
15 Dec 2010, 21:29
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I'm trying to convey a very basic point. Versailles is an unparalleled example of the use of landscaping---yes, LANDSCAPING---to project power. Landscaping performed according to p…
15 Dec 2010, 21:28
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I'd say?Outsider=God was about as unambiguous as Gene Wolfe gets. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote: From: Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcher…
15 Dec 2010, 21:20
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What's the point in creating a parallel universe that is fundamentally identical to our own? --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote: From: Son of…
15 Dec 2010, 21:19
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And Radio Shack never has them when you need them. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Adam Thornton (IO) <adam at io.com> wrote: From: Adam Thornton (IO) <adam at io.com> Subject: Re: (urth) …
15 Dec 2010, 21:13
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Well, whoever the "fortunate man ... possessed by the Outsider" was, he must not have been crucified. Not very fortunate, that. --- On Wed, 12/15/10, Lee Berman <severiansola at h…
15 Dec 2010, 21:11
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Now you're cooking, Lee. Yes, I can see demonic characters on each panel. And I can see a little red horned head, too. Severian, I'm quite sure, would not recognize Dat Ol Debbil i…
15 Dec 2010, 20:56
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There's a contradiction here. Since no one can see the House Absolute, it cannot serve as an ornament to the regime. It is useless in that regard as well, though nobles could visit…
15 Dec 2010, 20:43
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I admit I can't make up my mind about "which" universe Severian lives in. Sometimes I think it's ours, but often I think it's the future of a very close parallel---so close that th…
15 Dec 2010, 20:07
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You're right. Unless they are known in some vernacular as "monster panels." "Gimme a hand here with this shipment o' monster panels. By crikey, who needs fifteen pallets of 'em?" …
15 Dec 2010, 20:02
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--- On Wed, 12/15/10, Gerry Quinn <gerryq at indigo.ie> wrote: There may be some resemblances to Versailles, particularly in that the House Absolute was intended as a seat of gove…
15 Dec 2010, 19:59
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yes, Baum, sorry. Typing in a rush! --- On Wed, 12/15/10, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote: From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> Subject: Re: (urth) Faterh Inire Theory…
15 Dec 2010, 15:15
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You're right---that's a huge, diametrical opposition. Stark differences in freedom seem to appear in the series, as well as the Wizard Knight. What do you think it means?…
15 Dec 2010, 13:41
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It's the Larder of the Autarch! Maybe some teeth too.…
15 Dec 2010, 12:17
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True. Of course, it's also one of the most ancient symbols of royalty---at least in the case of eagles.…
15 Dec 2010, 12:15
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But Jonas isn't a suit, is he? He's Frank Stockton's Tin Man.…
15 Dec 2010, 12:14
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I think that, for a universe apparently without a Christ, Pan is as close to the true religion as one can get. Since the Pope is lucky enough to live in OUR universe, he can slee…
15 Dec 2010, 02:27
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That's a good analysis of the mirror metaphor. Yes, as the moon reflects the sun, so too the minor gods reflect the Increate. Well done. And of course the scraps (glimpses of knowl…
14 Dec 2010, 20:22
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ha! Right in front of me. Proof that you must avoid over-thinking when reading Wolfe. --- On Tue, 12/14/10, Jordon Flato <jordonflatourth at gmail.com> wrote: From: Jordon Flato …
14 Dec 2010, 20:18
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That's an interesting point. Inire calls forth only fish and angels. Which makes him seem not so satanic to me. What do you think? But Hethor calls forth true monsters, and we are …
14 Dec 2010, 19:02
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I hadn't actually read the page. Funny---something about symbols creating reality comes to mind. --- On Tue, 12/14/10, Son of Witz <Sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org> wrote: From: So…
14 Dec 2010, 17:54
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Plausible. Has anyone else thought that the word Wolfe is thinking of when Severian writes about the serpent and sword (some strong allusion right there) "----st" is the word "Chri…
14 Dec 2010, 17:49
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Thanks Mo Someone suggested that the glyph is a Chinese character. That's plausible, if possibly racist given the "monstrous" connotation. Chinese calligraphy and type sometimes us…
14 Dec 2010, 17:47
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That's not far off from my thought, but of course you have to know the numerology to "get" it. The meaning of a monster sign could not be more simple: don't come in here unless you…
14 Dec 2010, 16:08
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How funny. I envision a radially symmetric set of horns, perhaps 3 pairs like the biohazard symbol. In fact, it may even be that symbol Wolfe was thinking of---since monsters from …
14 Dec 2010, 16:01
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It doesn't sound Wolfean for a character to suffer a wound and subsequently experience a different set of memories or personality traits? Yes, it was. it may have been a country …
14 Dec 2010, 14:41
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Jonas stopped being a meat man when he was wounded. That has always seemed clear to me. Perhaps the personalities went back and forth for a bit afterward, and it was indeed the m…
14 Dec 2010, 12:32
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I forgot about that! Not only that, but Wolfe makes it quite clear, over many chapters, that this is the case, even if the ship part may only be a small part of the Tower. I bel…
14 Dec 2010, 03:59
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Well, it would glow in the dark, of course. ;)…
14 Dec 2010, 03:08
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I think the word "flaking" is used. The flaking is the problem---let alone the fumes from paint drying in the first place. Here's the main point: the House Absolute and the antec…
14 Dec 2010, 03:07
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I like your romantic notion of a starship, Gerry. I just don't think even "good" air filtration is achievable if everyone on the ship thinks as you do and renovates his "suite of…
14 Dec 2010, 02:09
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Which are floating hotels. Bam! --- On Mon, 12/13/10, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <danldo at gmail.com> wrote: From: Dan'l Danehy-Oakes <danldo at gmail.com> Subject: Re: (urth) Faterh In…
13 Dec 2010, 22:34
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Wait, isn't that obviously a reference to Lucifer? <kidding> --- On Mon, 12/13/10, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote: From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> Subject: Re: (…
13 Dec 2010, 22:32
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yes ... on Tzadkiel's ship. Jonas's ship crashed. I'm sympathetic to Lee's Labyrinth idea, but I'm not about to assume that there is only one starship in Briah. --- On Mon, 12/13/…
13 Dec 2010, 22:29
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I agree that Inire does a strange disappearing act. But he might be on The Ship unbeknownst to Severian, and he might have simply hopped into a mirror. Who knows where he called ho…
13 Dec 2010, 22:23
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On board a ship, those "suites" would have been called something else: compartments, probably. "Suites' are found in office buildings and hotels. --- On Mon, 12/13/10, Gerry Quinn…
13 Dec 2010, 22:01
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--- On Mon, 12/13/10, Gerry Quinn <gerryq at indigo.ie> wrote: From: Gerry Quinn <gerryq at indigo.ie> Subject: Re: (urth) Faterh Inire Theory cont. To: "The Urth Mailing List" <u…
13 Dec 2010, 20:46
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Actually, I bet some kind of pun like that---maybe not quite so stretched as this---is the answer to that riddle. More like, What pun would I make if I knew a little about Chinese …
13 Dec 2010, 20:21
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Pike as spear, not fish. Of course. I had to train myself to think "fish" just to learn the naming system. --- On Mon, 12/13/10, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote: …
13 Dec 2010, 20:18
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Right. It IS Kafkaesque.…
13 Dec 2010, 13:38
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If it IS a starship, it would make more sense if the vault was painted AFTER it was grounded. The problem with painting a starship interior, which I am surprised no one here see…
13 Dec 2010, 12:38
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It's simple. Jonas recognized the architecture as Urthly architecture much like our own. He recognized technology from a time he was familiar with. He's been around 20,00 years a…
13 Dec 2010, 01:37
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You lost me. Gerry didn't say he and God were logically incompatible. To me, one is provable/disprovable and the other is neither. That makes them "logically compatible," because…
12 Dec 2010, 22:02
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Wooden ships used to be carefully and colorfully painted. And rooms in those ships would be opened up for dinner and divided up for sleep, much as larger rooms in older buildings…
12 Dec 2010, 21:32
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Well, that's an interesting approach. Yes, there can be contradictions in literature, just as there are contradictions in gods. But why can't Severian simply be a schoolboy who h…
11 Dec 2010, 23:57
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I remember that now. Yes, the painted ceiling is not in a starship. Thanks.…
11 Dec 2010, 21:53
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