Wolfe says in the intro. to Storeys from the Old Hotel that the your interpretation is what he was aiming at. Doesn't mean other interpretations can't hold water, of course, but Wolfe was aiming at the God version. Actually, I think that's the more natural interpretation, as well--for me at least, the dictator version only began to exist for me after I heard someone else explain the story that way. It doesn't fit the feel of the story, in my opinion.
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On Oct 16, 3:06pm, Michael Straight wrote:
Subject: Re: (urth) 'Westwind'
On Fri, 16 Oct 1998, Dan Parmenter wrote:
Okay, I rather like 'Westwind'. I'm assuming that it's basically about people talking to God by radio instead of prayer, or as a form of prayer perhaps.
Did I "get" it?
That's one interpretation. Do you think it's possible that the leader is actually a dictator who uses the "Westwind" business as a means of social control? Why does he lead each of his followers to believe that they are the only "Westwind"? Why does he live in luxurys (as seen on TV) when his followers live in squallor?
If you believe you are the emperor's secret favorite, his spy, wouldn't that make you less likely to be part of any rebellion?
-Rostrum