Subject: (urth) Typhon and Pas

From: Mitchell A. Bailey <mab at lindau.net>
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 18:19:22 +0000

One curious contrast I noticed between the postoperative recuperating
Typhon of Urth and the bicephalic simulation Pas of the Whorl.

Typhon of Urth was rather reticent about his, er, condition when the
Conciliator showed up. The monarch had retired to his work camp in the
mountains where his monument was being carved while he recovered (that
is, until Piaton should outlive his usefulness and be amputated like a
tumour). The chiliarch threatened Sev with death if he should speak of
anything he might see or hear, and ensured the troopers could not see
the monarch when the curtain was drawn. I think we can guess what it is
Typhon did not want spoken of, and it seems clear that he does not wish
his subjects generally to see or know about his surgery or the means by
which his intended rejuvenation was supposed to occur.

He appeared readily enough to Sev in both _Sword_ and UNS, but those
were special cases out of sight of his ordinary subjects.

On the other hand, the Typhon who was simulated as Pas seemed to have no
problem whatsoever with the people on the Whorl seeing his
disfigurement, and in fact flaunted it as a sort of trademark.

Other than to say that the Cargo of _Whorl_ were permanently removed
from Urth and what is an acceptable appearance for a god might be
unsuitable for a monarch, it seems to be a bit of a contradiction in
attitudes. This could call into question the theory that Urth and Whorl
occupy the same milieu after all.

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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From: Greene, Carlton <cgreene2 at hunton.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 18:55:01 +0000

I always understood that the chiliarch was protecting against news of
Typhon's weakened, post-operative condition, and not the fact that he would
be sporting two heads for a while.  Although we might see Typhon's status as
horridly embarrasing, it might also be seen as an impressive, god-like
display of magical technology.    Such a display is consistent with Typhon's
deity status on the Whorl generation ship.  It is also a peculiarly
symbol-laden technological achievement, and gives Typhon more of the
mythological touches that a good deity needs.  A two-headed man has a rich
grounding in myth (Janus and fairy tale giants spring to mind), much more so
than a man who achieves immortality by taking a high-tech multivitamin.

As a practical matter, it might have taken too long for Typhon to wait for
his spare head to atrophy before returning to his empire, leading him to
make the best of it and exploit his two-heads' symbolism as best he could.
Are we told how long it would take for Piaton to atrophy?

Having said all this, it does seem odd that he would choose his two-headed
self as the self-image he bequeathed to posterity aboard the whorl, given
that he planned a return to one-headedness.  Maybe the mythological power of
that symbol was more important than the man he would become.

C/

> ----------
> From: 	Mitchell A. Bailey[SMTP:MAB at lindau.net]
> Reply To: 	urth at lists.best.com
> Sent: 	Monday, December 13, 1999 9:19 PM
> To: 	urth at lists.best.com
> Subject: 	(urth) Typhon and Pas
> 
> works
> ranjit at best.com
> whorl at lists.best.com

---

From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at sirius.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 16:24:52 +0000

>occupy the same milieu after all.

I agree with everything but the last paragraph.

I took the situation as meaning that the "scanning" for the Whorl had
happened before the slave's head had been removed; thus sometime before
Severian met Typhon in Typhon's era; which is obvious and self-evident.

I would add to your notions that it would be more fitting for a god to have
two heads.  That is true and I agree.  Here's the addition: we know that
Typhon was seriously messing with the heads of all the people (and
embryoes) going onboard the Whorl, thus there is no "continuity" problem
for them; whereas on Urth, the palace guards are saying, hey, what's the
deal--bossman had only one head yesterday!

=mantis=