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Thanks for this one, though it rekindled my suspicions of a Qabalistic significance in 5HOC. Will I never finish with that book? To cut a long story short, I believe GW used the …
19 Feb 2006, 14:50
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In Devil in the Forest, Wat orders breakfast and the innkeeper suggests fried eggs (cooked in grease) and what the pig sits on. Like most of us mammals, a pig sits on its haunches …
21 Jul 2005, 10:40
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Borski's theory that Ouen is Severiam's father depends heavily on the Owen Tudor(anag. Trudo)/ Katherine story which I don't pretend to know. The Typhon as Dad theory is new to me…
17 Jun 2005, 11:01
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Cyrenica and Severian are seen by a (masked) couple who seem to identify the pair and hurry off. This is near the start of the SotL. Who were they? I will bet $10 it was Racho and …
17 Jun 2005, 10:42
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My own theories on the significance of M. Million being an unbound simulator are probably idiosyncratic. Playfully I will suggest the M. stands for M. Million, making his full nam…
16 Jun 2005, 06:20
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Near Future? Drugs, crime and general bizarre social disintegration? I've just read Operation Ares - is this the first Cyberpunk Novel or what?…
16 Jun 2005, 05:50
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In the first published GW story 'The case of the vanishing ghost' does anyone else see a refrence to Harry S. Truman? btw extra points if you can say what the S. stands for.(-; h…
26 Mar 2005, 12:23
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Dan Brown eat your heart out... http://www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm Love is God! Chapter 9 1) When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that …
08 Feb 2005, 16:14
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I had trouble on Google. Thunder Always (from '"A Story" by John V. Marsch' was a meaningful name but it is not easily found on the net. GW's first published story in Orbit was '…
07 Feb 2005, 19:03
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Just to makr it clear, I never intended to suggest Gene Wolfe was in favour of slavery, just that his understanding of it in historical context was deeper than the usual one-sided …
05 Feb 2005, 18:32
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The one and only argument that might be considered pro-slavery that I can recall from Wolfe offhand is the reminder that *for the ancients* a certain amount slavery was actuall…
04 Feb 2005, 19:29
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Ok 5HC may not be a simple proposition, but it has a simple solution which GW hammers home again and again, despite his claim that he only likes to give clues once. The earliest GW…
04 Feb 2005, 16:50
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Yes, I agree that Harlow's inhumane experiments left their mark here. I agree that he often discusses slavery. Often he submits arguments in favour of it. I think he understood th…
04 Feb 2005, 16:37
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GeneWolfe: Writer's Block: By not reading talking as little as possible, doing a lot of physical things (dig the garden, paint the house, go on long walks...) GeneWolfe: (Shovel s…
03 Feb 2005, 16:48
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Skinner and his cohorts were well aware of the biological and evolutionary framework which underpinned their work. They chose to emphasise that this did not predetermine our fate. …
03 Feb 2005, 15:59
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Another person's Utopia is always worth a visit, but I would not want to live in most of them. In private conversation, Skinner referred to his own internal processes as any of us…
03 Feb 2005, 11:14
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There seems to be an allusion on these threads that B.F.Skinner may bear some similarity to the father of Number Five in 5HC. As a first year Psychology student at Exeter Univers…
03 Feb 2005, 07:08
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A detective novel in which the first few pages have been removed by a sharp edge? No you are holding it upside down. When GW wrote 5HC he got around the usual problem with whodunni…
02 Feb 2005, 19:09
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~Maru Now here's an interesting thought problem- Would the aliens accord the robots 'personhood' and would they be right or wrong? Yes and rightly so. ===== http://prisoner14…
01 Feb 2005, 20:58
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I have been observing the suspect through this deceptive mirror. If the 'client' has any doubts that the mirror he faces is more than just a reflective surface, then he hides his s…
01 Feb 2005, 12:42
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Thanks David Liebling The name had escaped me and you have saved me a lot of time. I am sure a non-naive, suspicious interrogator (or client) could soon ascertain if the 'therapis…
01 Feb 2005, 09:13
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Searle's argument was that the guy in the room who manipulated the symbols had no real knowledge of the Chinese language, just the rules for manipulating the symbols. It could be a…
01 Feb 2005, 07:47
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Alan suggested that a man could pass as a woman if his typed replies to messages fooled most men into believing him a her. Internal and external states were not mentioned in detail…
31 Jan 2005, 17:54
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1. Opera In one sense all books and opera are linear. (beginning middle end). However Opera of all art forms probably gives most scope for the replicating the non-linear aspects o…
31 Jan 2005, 14:56
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Tony Ellis wrote Robert Borski rendered our whole debate largely pointless by quoting Wolfe as saying the narrator of VRT is a Shadow Child. I think 'Shadow Child' was a slip of t…
27 Jan 2005, 17:03
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Who was then the gentleman? http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a115-when-adam-delved.htm I did not know the origin of the rhyme until I found this. So as well as the Biblical, Reformation …
27 Jan 2005, 05:58
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Yes Maru. It is 3 novellas written as one story. Of this I am certain. The ascians/abos are people like us Even the deer-hunter, the elephant-man and the old whaler recognised this…
26 Jan 2005, 16:06
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Levi-Strauss' hypothesis. 'There is only one story that is rooted in human experience, though it may be told in many ways.' Elvis' corollary 'You ain't nothing but a hound-dog'…
26 Jan 2005, 12:58
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Two possibilities. 1 Thom Yorke is a big Gene Wolfe fan. 2 He has never read any Gene Wolfe, but he has read much other stuff which led him to similar conclusions. I listen to Ra…
26 Jan 2005, 12:24
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Thanks Judith You've raised a lot of interesting points and I am kicking myself for not spotting the 'When Adam delved and Eve span' reference which I am sure is valid. I think one…
26 Jan 2005, 10:25
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I am most dreadfully sorry. I never thought my words would render you all speechless or I would have just lurked in some corner like a little girl in a blue dress. Is there anythin…
24 Jan 2005, 12:23
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To avoid fouling up this list with my somewhat unorthodox speculations regarding this book I have taken the advice given me and created a webpage to explore these ideas at my own p…
21 Jan 2005, 08:14
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Not pearls before swine... I sew seeds or beans. Google often misleads... which is why I approach it cautiously and check and cross-check. Inspired by you and Borski and many other…
19 Jan 2005, 11:39
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How do you hide an elephant? In plain sight you can hide it from the blind. How do you know if there is an elephant in your fridge? Watch for the tracks in the butter dish. How d…
19 Jan 2005, 10:52
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I enjoy cryptic crosswords. The non-cryptic puzzles can often have several plausible answers, requiring you to guess a few other words to confirm your suspicions. A good cryptic cl…
19 Jan 2005, 09:31
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Early in AoGG, Marilla specifies that they do not want to adopt 'a Home boy... a london street arab... ' instead she specifies 'a native born at least... a born Canadian'. Nowaday…
19 Jan 2005, 08:49
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It is too easy to prove anything with numerology. But some numbers are unusual enough to be worth investigating : 143 BC The Hasmonean Kingdom in ancient Judea and its ruling d…
19 Jan 2005, 05:48
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David, I agree that it is unnecessary to re-quote a long message before adding one line of reply. I think Maru and Dan'l were merely pointing out the parallels in themes, linguisti…
19 Jan 2005, 04:38
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I admit for a long time I imagined the Carabao to look like a Caribou. I dreamt last night of a shaman wearing a stag's head with antlers. The carabao, as anyone who fought in the…
19 Jan 2005, 03:36
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I have given the evidence as much attention as was required to lead me to the inescapable conclusion to this mystery. I can tell you who killed Le Maitre, but you will not like my …
18 Jan 2005, 10:54
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Anne of Cerberus Anne had her own Shadow Children : Katie Maurice (her reflection in the glass of the bookless bookcase) and Violetta (the little echo girl). I was speaking of an…
18 Jan 2005, 10:13
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Riverrun etc. What shape is 5HOC? It depends how you look at it write all the words on a long strip of paper. But before you glue the ends together... give it a twist. Unequivocall…
17 Jan 2005, 16:16
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Ode to Joy Io advised me that the song 'Ode to Joy' is written for her and just because I hear it when I read GW, doesn't mean it's really there. A song of Joy for love and unders…
17 Jan 2005, 14:47
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Who killed Le Maitre? The clues are all there and like any good whodunnit this has an unambiguous answer. But first I would question the basic premise... Who said he was dead... m…
17 Jan 2005, 14:10
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On a musical note Syrinx was a nymph who was cut up into pieces to save her from Pan, probably by Zeus or one of those other guys who hides children in the skies so that they will…
17 Jan 2005, 13:53
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Le Marche des Carabos This is an odd one but a belgian translated the hourglass or eggtimer in windows as a 'Sand Walker' The prehistoric ancestor of cats and dogs had a fifth to…
17 Jan 2005, 13:22
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Has anyone been to Switzerland recently? If Cave Canem can be assumed to be located at the site of the Saltimbanque theater in Geneva, then a large historic library might be expect…
17 Jan 2005, 13:10
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As an engineer Genew Wolfe knows that simple forms can support complex structures. Caverns lined with stalagmites and stalactites or ancient forests with overarching trees are oft…
17 Jan 2005, 08:52
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In this room we have Number 5, his cloned father and someone who claims to be john marsch... no other people are mentioned, but the room is shadowy. How many dead bodies? Nobody ca…
16 Jan 2005, 16:20
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I looked for purple eyes. They are very rare! You need two recessive genes to produce them. Some people say Liz Taylor had them. Nowadays on Google you will find many Japanese refe…
16 Jan 2005, 15:05
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