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Heh, heh. And why should you? ;- ) Perhaps there are. Maybe in electronic form? I think it would please James if creatures with windy names were associated with Typhon/Pas. M…
08 Feb 2011, 20:48
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Marc's continued insistence on the importance of flora and fauna has me thinking. I don't doubt he is right. It's funny how we have the Vironese naming convention for males and fem…
08 Feb 2011, 19:53
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I'm with Marc in finding evidence that Inhumi were present on the Whorl from the beginning in some form or another. I never like the sort of theory which relies on a "maybe they dr…
08 Feb 2011, 19:10
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Heh. I thought equating Wolfe with James Blish was the real insult ;- ).…
07 Feb 2011, 02:11
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Yes, it was this definition, plus the Short Sun's explicit association of The Outsider with Dionysus (Pan) that steered me toward Father Inire as a focus for this entity in BotNS.…
04 Feb 2011, 13:20
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I never noticed a difference in previous readings. But then I wasn't looking for them. I did notice the word "Demiurge" used in a similar context which I found to be a head- scratc…
03 Feb 2011, 13:24
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My religious education ended around the time I was 14. I suspect serious students of judaism eventually get into the mysticism of the name YHWH. As mentioned, that word was never,…
03 Feb 2011, 08:20
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Interesting. I was not aware of that (perhaps not being a Christian). Who did God appear as? Well, I am a bit more focused on BotNS, and as Roy nicely points out, there is a use o…
02 Feb 2011, 23:17
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Heh, that's pretty funny! Was just rereading that Casdoe section. An interesting quote supporting my Agia=assassin guess, requiring mistaken gender: Also regarding gender m…
01 Feb 2011, 04:04
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If you are able to recognize Severian as an indestructible hero, of mixed genealogy, with a missing twin, with superhuman power, who was set upon various superhuman tasks, who sle…
01 Feb 2011, 03:25
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Been checking under the old Appian robes, eh wot? He's been "unmanned". Are you SURE he wasn't endowed with some ovaries in the process? Definitions of "androgynous" and include "a…
01 Feb 2011, 03:20
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Heh. Funny actually. Well, someone in here dubbed one of my ideas "Worst Ever". The question one might ask is: "what are the theories these critics base their own superiority upon?…
01 Feb 2011, 02:13
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I think it was and at a few different levels. It was first a deception on the old Autarch, Appian. I think he surprised them with his dedication and bravery in giving it a shot. No…
31 Jan 2011, 03:50
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Before we are made to realize that B, F and O and Inire and the Cumaean have mythological analogs, there is (at least it was to me) a sense that there are non-human alien civilizat…
31 Jan 2011, 03:28
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Far from perfectly suited to hunting humans as the standoff with Severian and its eventual death demonstrate. If it had been "smart" it would have stopped with Severa and Becan. I…
31 Jan 2011, 03:09
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Yep hard to know for sure. Borski argues that the name Appian is evocative of bees and some of Severian's first acquired memories are of bee keeping presumably from the honey stew…
31 Jan 2011, 02:54
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There have been some interesting points made on both sides of the debate. But this seems like fairly conclusive evidence of "merger". It makes little sense for a pure alzabo to go …
30 Jan 2011, 22:56
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Heh. Restoring my own crotch might be a high priority if I had the power of resurrection. Lucky Severian didn't have to, I guess (though as far as we know he remained childless). …
30 Jan 2011, 04:16
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The name of the story I think you are looking for is "The Cat". Toward the end of Citadel I think, Severian ponders that he seems to have revived Triskele before he received The…
29 Jan 2011, 04:18
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I feel like mentioning that, with full admiration for Gene Wolfe, he was as we all are, a product of his times. It has been discussed previously how BotNS was probably influenced b…
28 Jan 2011, 20:27
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I think so. I would say that there are three differences to be found in the text between Severian's fleshly ingestion of the autarch and others' ingestions. One is, as you ment…
28 Jan 2011, 20:11
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Perhaps we can agree this definition fits what happens with the alzabo rather nicely? I think Dan'l's concern is over the temporary/permanent nature of the merger. If we go by …
28 Jan 2011, 18:50
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Well, I certainly felt that was the spirit of the text for many years, but doubts always lurked. Master Ash says that in the Ragnarok future, most of humanity will be saved. With t…
28 Jan 2011, 03:29
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Thanks Ryan. It's good to be reminded of that. Don't worry I am not upset. There was just a misunderstanding. I've know that some people are here to knock down the ideas of othe…
27 Jan 2011, 16:29
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I have said that if the old person is seen as a woman some important things about this story are clarified for me. I also cited two specific collections of items from the text whic…
27 Jan 2011, 13:40
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In one BotNS passage, Wolfe seems to tell his readers that everything can be interpreted at three levels, the plowman's, the soothsayer's and the transcendental. I take him at his …
27 Jan 2011, 06:10
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Oh, should mention Severian using Terminus Est as a staff. But perhaps more relevant, Severian is using a staff when he returns to Urth as the Conciliator. Ceryx snaps that staff…
26 Jan 2011, 22:33
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Okay I guess I must add, why Agia has a low voice, why Thecla has a masculine gait and enjoys wearing men's clothing, why the Autarch is rendered androgynous (when a simple vasecto…
26 Jan 2011, 22:10
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It does seem he prefers an actively engaged reader. The gold and lead connection is a good one! But why the need for "pft!". Is each metaphor restricted to one meaning only to t…
26 Jan 2011, 21:15
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Do you mean Silk and his vine? Good call! BTW, aside from grapes and vines and wine, Dionysus was known for carrying a staff. It was called a "thyrsus". Made of fennel, usually…
26 Jan 2011, 20:20
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Argh, that would be a mean trick; especially if meant to target his most devoted fans. Still we have all these fishy family clues swimming around the text and, after 30 years, they…
26 Jan 2011, 16:54
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Heh. If you must. I'm more comfortable with the "Father Inire theory". Despite the myriad possible connections to other characters, Inire remains the nexus point, his invisible fi…
26 Jan 2011, 03:59
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(no worries, I caught your meaning regarding Severian the first time) By this do you mean that by carrying all those memories he is the best representative of humanity? As the au…
26 Jan 2011, 00:48
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Actually whale vs. fish fins are one of those classic examples of convergent evolution. Fish (ancient and modern) mostly have fins built on a fan-shaped pattern of spiny rays. Wha…
26 Jan 2011, 00:27
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I understand what you are saying but it is a different question being addressed. The Wikipedia quote Gerry cited was: "a great deal of genetic variation is hidden in the form …
25 Jan 2011, 22:56
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Argh! First it was Roy giving my ideas an Einsteinian label (Grand Unified Theory), now I have been von Danikenized! Sheesh. J/K but really my ideas are not meant to carry any scie…
25 Jan 2011, 21:37
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Gerry we are a bit closer to understanding on these issues. I misunderstood what you were getting at with "natural country type". I thought you meant there could be no prevalent v…
25 Jan 2011, 20:24
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James Wynn- Hmmm...what a nice obscure reference. I like it! Well, there has been extensive discussion of Severian's lameness wound. I think some discussion in the past of how Se…
24 Jan 2011, 21:34
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I don't have an objection to this interpretation. My main point is that if the shadowy, jungle-dwelling, individualist sorcerers are against the coming of the New Sun, it may be th…
24 Jan 2011, 20:52
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Thanks James. It is interesting and good to know that Wolfe's idea for the name Ascian had only to do with the equator-dwelling mistake and not with Asia or America. I would disa…
24 Jan 2011, 16:24
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Yes, I agree. Good find!. And I think it goes beyond the memory thing. The term "dithyramb" is used. And this from the third paragraph: These are direct references to Nietzsche …
24 Jan 2011, 13:38
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Gerry, I later realized I can answer two of my questions to you myself. When you mention "those who believe in race" you are referring to sort of a polarizing notion in anthropolog…
24 Jan 2011, 04:02
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I think it makes intuitive sense. Mixing up gene combinations is essential for survival of a gene line allowing organismal adaptability. Sexual creatures do it, but even most asexu…
23 Jan 2011, 23:50
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Okay, then I am willing to give it one last go-around. It occurred to me that is the trait of discussion were kidney shape or histone frequency or other non-visible items it would …
23 Jan 2011, 14:07
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Gerry, I wasn't going to continue this thread but you seem so intensely interested in the subject, which is my field of speciality, I'm willing to give it one last try if the List…
23 Jan 2011, 04:16
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Thanks Andrew. A very useful quote in trying to understand Wolfe's mind and intention with regard to humans from other planets vs. alien races or monsters.…
23 Jan 2011, 00:32
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Gerry, I just can't maintain that tone you prefer to communicate in for paragraph after paragraph. So I'll just gently mention a few corrections of your last post for whomever mig…
22 Jan 2011, 13:11
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LMAO, nah, something much worse. Anthropologist. But there is an anthro-linguistic principle called "code switching". Roughly means, "people understand you best when you speak in t…
22 Jan 2011, 04:34
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I am married to a Chinese-American and know her family well. I can testify that this is a real phenomenon I have been aware of for some time. A traditional Chinese family is not …
22 Jan 2011, 01:34
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Gerry Quinn wrote (21-01-2011 20:10): There is something to what Antonio says but not only because humans use cultural flexibility to adapt to our environments. It is also becau…
21 Jan 2011, 21:21
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