# 'Ridden Like Beats?' That Sounds Painful...

*The Urth list — 2 messages, 2 voices, 26 Mar 2000*

<https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/2166>

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### Talarican
*26 Mar 2000, 23:28*

<quote>
'  The novelist [!] Gene
Wolfe makes an identical, albeit lovelier, observation:

We say, 'I will,' and 'I will not,' and imagine ourselves ...our own
masters, whhen the
truth is that our masters are sleeping.  One wakes within us, and we are
ridden like beats, though the rider is but some hitherto unguessed part of
ourselves.

Quick, those of you with Severian-like memory, where is the quote from?
<unquote>

I know! I know! BNS, Sword,  XVII "The Challenge". Severian is explaining to
us at length why he is describing in such detail the episode wherein he
meets "the shopkeeper's sister" (Agia) and gets the serious hots for her. He
suggests the above as a reason why Ymar got up and followed the dog in the
story. Really confusing.

No, I don't have Severian-like memory, just happened to have re-read that
passage, researching more IAQ's.Whew! I feel an IAQ coming on already!

(think if GW were to hear of THAT typo, he'd write it into a story
somewhere?)

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### Daniel Fusch
*27 Mar 2000, 18:19 · follows Talarican*

I wonder...would that be beats as in radishes, or beats as in poets?

> From: "Talarican" <exultnttalarican at mindspring.com>
> Reply-To: urth at lists.best.com
> To: urth at lists.best.com
> Subject: (urth) 'Ridden Like Beats?' That Sounds Painful...
> Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2000 23:28:04 -0500
> 
> <quote>
> '  The novelist [!] Gene
> Wolfe makes an identical, albeit lovelier, observation:
> 
> We say, 'I will,' and 'I will not,' and imagine ourselves ...our own
> masters, whhen the
> truth is that our masters are sleeping.  One wakes within us, and we are
> ridden like beats, though the rider is but some hitherto unguessed part of
> ourselves.
> 
> Quick, those of you with Severian-like memory, where is the quote from?
> <unquote>
> 
> I know! I know! BNS, Sword,  XVII "The Challenge". Severian is explaining 
> to
> us at length why he is describing in such detail the episode wherein he
> meets "the shopkeeper's sister" (Agia) and gets the serious hots for her. 
> He
> suggests the above as a reason why Ymar got up and followed the dog in the
> story. Really confusing.
> 
> No, I don't have Severian-like memory, just happened to have re-read that
> passage, researching more IAQ's.Whew! I feel an IAQ coming on already!
> 
> (think if GW were to hear of THAT typo, he'd write it into a story
> somewhere?)
> 
> 
> 
> works

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