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Why not? With conditioning, people die in self-sacrificial manner every day in our world and they do it for mere religious or patriotic reasons and are often labeled criminals by…
16 Aug 2010, 18:48
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I certainly agree with that. A good general truism. Not so applicable to this issue, though it would be if there was a chance Severian was, at the moment, transported to an identic…
16 Aug 2010, 18:17
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Or are they beheading a puppet? Or an ageless woman in costume with a detachable head which is not real? No, as I undertand the theory, they are khaibits. Heh, heh, no sale? …
16 Aug 2010, 17:55
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The admiration both of you share for the guild as it existed at the beginning of the story is not shared by Severian. Earlier he parrots the justifications and rote reasons for the…
16 Aug 2010, 15:08
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Is understanding Wolfe a scientific or Sherlock Holmesian process, where the most minimally possible answer is taken as the best working hypothesis. Or is it a religious process in…
16 Aug 2010, 14:20
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I think we are in general agreement on the structure. I don't agree that the order one uses in perceiving the structure is important (except as personal anecdote). People's brain…
16 Aug 2010, 13:53
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I think what Severian was supposed to do is not quite confirmed as happening during his ascension ceremony. Everything is a bit wobbly and thus suspicious. It may well be that Wol…
16 Aug 2010, 13:41
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This is essentially my view also. I'm not sure if I would have included the Catholic Church on Urth, but Dorcas does mention a "rood". I think it is an interesting thought experi…
16 Aug 2010, 12:56
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James, I think your first conclusion is that if Wolfe goes through the trouble of describing how a letter is written and re-written then SOMETHING weird is going on. I think even…
16 Aug 2010, 12:32
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Yes a thin wooden batten with lightweight tinsel. Yet when Severian first takes up the sword, "It was very heavy". When he lifted the sword, "I feared it would overbalance me".…
16 Aug 2010, 03:59
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I think one of the main theories about Catherine/Holy Katharine maid and her enduring youth involve her residing in a tower (probably Valeria's) off the Atrium of Time, and time ti…
16 Aug 2010, 01:52
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Well, they are both seabirds comprising a smaller much smaller subset than that which would include owls and ostriches. But it is still a good correction to make (given my own bac…
15 Aug 2010, 23:10
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I don't think we have to. In my opinion Gene Wolfe sometimes puts little "in-jokes" into his text which by-pass the characters and go straight from author to reader. James' Bee a…
15 Aug 2010, 10:59
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Look if the alien master of shapeshifting and disguise, Father Inire, can't hide from me, how is a mere mortal supposed to do it? :- ) In seriousness, it is a funny talent I noti…
15 Aug 2010, 04:54
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Gerry, thanks for the entropy explanation. I understand what you mean. Still having trouble with your verisimiltude. We understand that Wolfe shows us certain symbols that Severi…
14 Aug 2010, 18:41
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I have a family tree which allows Little Severian to be 3rd cousin (or maybe 2nd cousin once removed? My American folk kinship rules are a bit rusty) to Severian. It requires a c…
14 Aug 2010, 17:58
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Gerry, I see you use the phrase, "most cases". Other than detective work by Severian, what other aspect of a familial clue in BotNS would convey authenticty to you? Perhaps you ca…
14 Aug 2010, 14:13
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I'm sorry Gerry, I don't understand what you mean by "low entropy of the numbers. Could you explan? I must confess that I am one who becomes quickly annoyed by authors who inve…
14 Aug 2010, 14:00
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That Severian seems to be actively investigating his family tree does add a somewhat unique aspect to this puzzle. Boatman as grandfather, Ouen as father and Holy Katharine maid a…
14 Aug 2010, 13:40
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Ah, yes, that's the coin with Severian's scarred face I was thinking of. Thanks, Tony!…
14 Aug 2010, 13:17
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Oh man! That is so great! Thank you Nick. I can barely imagine a better line to post in a community devoted to Gene Wolfe. Entirely, not partially. I'm writhing in Proustian deli…
14 Aug 2010, 02:48
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Jack Smith: I admit to a penchant for the provocative and theatrical, especially online. I hope I am not undercutting your post by mentioning that I did soften this assertion…
14 Aug 2010, 02:21
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James please consider that perhaps Nick doesn't want to appear as though he is an experienced member of this board. If you catch my drift.…
14 Aug 2010, 00:28
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Thanks Antonio. Reminds me of a verse in a song called Walking in Memphis by a jewish guy named Marc Cohn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JzuZW-Lcns…
13 Aug 2010, 21:58
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That is a nice and very humanistic philosophy, I think. I have no disagrement. But keep in mind I am not arguing for intelligent design, I am arguing that Gene Wolfe with his mach…
13 Aug 2010, 20:53
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Thank you Jack!! For so many years I knew I had seen the slick, greasy fake coin reference from somewhere else and you have found it. That is definitely IT. Two bits says that's wh…
13 Aug 2010, 20:22
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Thanks, Dan'l. I find your final sentence especially to be a very interesting response.…
13 Aug 2010, 20:01
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Yeah, no way. Severian is surely the real deal. Isn't he? Anyway, I have a memory from somewhere in UotNS of a coin with Severian's scarred face on it. Maybe the assassin with th…
13 Aug 2010, 19:54
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I hope I can be forgiven for this heretical question...but if the Increate is born as the Theantropos in Briah (n+19), what is the situation with the Christ figure of Briah (n+20…
13 Aug 2010, 19:43
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My guess is a lead alloy, which would have the golden color, the weight and heft of gold, but soft and greasy feeling to the touch.…
13 Aug 2010, 18:47
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Ryan I think that is an excellent point. Does it suggest the false coin was not a dropsie but comes from the stack of chrisos that was provided to Dr. Talos by the Old Autarch and…
13 Aug 2010, 17:14
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I agree with Roy. Hildegren is a prime suspect. Perhaps better than Hethor because he is intimately associated with Vodalus at the beginning of the story. Hethor is only tangentia…
13 Aug 2010, 16:59
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James, I appreciate the expression of kindness and understanding it is truly appreciated. You know BotNS is surely my favorite work of mysterious art, but there are other mysteriou…
13 Aug 2010, 15:50
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The recent discussed inspired me to recheck the relevant text on the origin of Hierogrammates. I think this sequence is a good example of what David Stockhoff and I mean by Wolfe…
13 Aug 2010, 06:52
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Jeff, I am not religious and I suspect we are thus too different in our thinking to even discuss this topic but I'll give it a shot. You mention "poor choices" but the issue of m…
13 Aug 2010, 06:17
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Roy I have seen many who seem to agree with your view of Yesod as a universe above and separate from Briah and its sucessions. I don't disagree with it. I see it as a valid interpr…
13 Aug 2010, 05:29
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I am guessing this was my post you are referring to. It is based on the idea that we humans feel we have choices because of the limits to our perception of the future. We can only …
13 Aug 2010, 04:41
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Antonio I'm not sure what you are suggesting or asking of me. Are you saying my purpose here is to please the "many"? It isn't. I believe in the sanctity of the one on one author…
13 Aug 2010, 04:04
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David Stockhoff- David, for me this nicely sums up what might be the best way to read and interpret Wolfe. Maybe I would change one thing, which is to take the onus off the naive…
12 Aug 2010, 21:55
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Ooh! have I communicated my ideas so poorly? My view is that there is an endless succession of universes. Briah happens to be between a nicer one, Yesod, and a meaner one, Abaddon …
12 Aug 2010, 21:00
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Tony, my comment was not sanctimony but meant purely as sarcasm though prompted by the perception of sanctimony and condescension on your part. Perhaps I misread you and you were…
12 Aug 2010, 20:33
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Lee Berman- Ryan Dunn- I'll take up the mantle for a moment... I believe a better hybrid would be Dale Stockman. Either that or Liev Bermoff. ...ryan LMAO! Thanks Ryan. You …
12 Aug 2010, 17:57
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Tony, crystal clear understanding of the speech of Hierogrammates is surely a skill to be admired. I did promise in my last post that it was a last shot so I'll leave it at that. T…
12 Aug 2010, 17:19
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Erm, yes. Typhon very strangely gets an erection and "nurses" it while talking to Severian. He also says that when he re-establishes his multi-planet empire, he will be sent trib…
12 Aug 2010, 17:06
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Antonio P. Marques- This article may be helpful in explaining what I am getting at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuus Considering the events in Long Sun, anything to do with…
12 Aug 2010, 14:40
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Uakarki and margays could have climbed the ladder from the garden but oreodonts.. nope. I agree that this and some other objections have called my theory of the Jungle Hut as a Las…
12 Aug 2010, 12:14
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Jeff Wilson: Malrubius doesn't disagree with Tzadkiel. He thinks severian's humanity might be the race that created Hierogrammates but he isn't sure. After Tzadkiel tells Sever…
12 Aug 2010, 11:52
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Tony I'll give it one more shot. I've been looking through the text and found evidence which supports both your and my views. I think most agree that Malrubius' story is our f…
12 Aug 2010, 03:44
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Interesting idea. It is a bit weird that Vodalus can suspect the wounded old guy in the ziggurat is the Autarch, have the guy's androgynous face on one of his own coins but not …
11 Aug 2010, 18:05
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Well, in my view, certainly it is in the Hierogrammates' look back in which they discover humanity. Like studying their history, they learn that in their Briatic origins the humans…
11 Aug 2010, 17:52
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