# 5HoC questions *The Urth list — 1 messages, 1 voices, 14 Nov 2000* > 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. --- ### Tony Ellis *14 Nov 2000, 11:08* > Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote: > Also, is there any reason to believe that there was ever a real > John V. Marsch? ...I wonder if "VRT" simply took his > abo name and applied it to his new identity... Unfortunately, this intriguing idea is at least partially shot down by the fact that once or twice Dr Marsch is called "Doctor Marsch" by the people he talks to, long before he goes into the back of beyond with VRT. It seems unlikely that VRT would keep the surname and replace the first names. On the other hand, the names do seem suggestive, don't they? I would suggest that what we're looking at here is a classic Wolfian pun: the joke being that Marsch carries his eventual fate with him all the time in the words of his name. Dr John V Marsch, the man who comes to St Anne to find aborigines, gets killed and replaced by a real John-of-the-Marsh. Now there's irony for you. ``` Tony Ellis On-line Editor, PC Format magazine 01225 442244 x2349 http://www.pcformat.co.uk ``` ---