mantis having written:
<So is Inire "Yaweh," the big sky-daddy himself? No, of course not.>
Literally, he may not be, but symbolically I sure think he comes close, especially, if, as I've suggested, his name really is Abraxas (being an alien Inire should have a mythic name, like all the other cacogens).
At least one ancient writer, Basilides of Eygpt, an early 2nd-Century Gnostic teacher, viewed Abraxas as the supreme being, and in regards to the people of Urth Inire stands similarly, being both paternalistic steward and advocate. In other words, his cajones are major.
The irony of this? As with the oft-mentioned Fechin, we never actually meet Inire. He's always offstage or discussed in anecdotal fashion by others who've met him (Thecla, Odilio, Hildegrin).
Then again, given the importance of masks in New Sun...
Robert Borski