# Borskisms *The Urth list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 14 Oct 1998* > Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright > in each message remains with the person who wrote it. > Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original > archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than > retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact. --- ### Charles Dye *14 Oct 1998, 20:52* "Robert Borski" writes: > "His empire did fail him, as it had to...But he did not retire as he had > planned into that vault and the curtain wall he had caused to be built > around it, for when once the wild things have been put behind a man for > good and all, they are trap-wise and cannot be recaptured. > > "Nevertheless, it is said that before all he gathered was sealed away, he > set a guardian over it. And when that guardian's time on Urth was done, he > found another, and he another, so that they continue ever faithful to the > demands of that autarch..." > > Cyriaca, earlier, has called this vault "the lost archives" and when she > finishes her tale, Sev says, "It is a wonderful story. I think that perhaps > *I know more of it than you, but I have never heard* it before." > > This is because he's just realized the Claw has reawakened the guardian of > the lost archives. Sigh. Once again, I have a much duller interpretation. Call me a bore- schismatic. Cyriaca gives the location of the lost archives. They are "in Nessus, a long way south of the city most people visit, so far down the great river... there stands an ancient fortress.... It stands upon a hill overlooking Gyoll... staring out over a field of ruined sepulchers, guarding nothing." Severian knows more of the story because he's visited the vault. He himself carries one of the lost volumes beyond the curtain wall. Naturally, I agree with your nominee for the "autarch." m.driussi at genie.com writes: > Am I wrong? Did all that intellectual labor go out with the > alchemists? Has Science become some sort of orthodoxy of divine > transmission? Have scientists become a species of cargo cult, > waiting for the next Truth to come tumbling out the cornucopia of the > vast complex? For what it's worth, I enjoy Mr. Borski's speculations, though I don't agree with most of them. Great fun! But theorizing is only part of science, of course. The dull part is gathering evidence to support or refute a theory. One I'd like to see developed far better is the two-names-per-Hierodule theory. There's an obvious link with one of Winge's most famous short stories, of course; I suspect the titles of some of Mr. Borski's posts are intended to hint at it. But I'd like a lot more detail. Why, for example, tie "Abraxas" in particular to "Father Inire"? Was "Abraxas" just a loose name, or does it have some meaning that connects it to Inire? raster at highfiber.com ---