Subject: (urth) In Glory Like Their Star (SPOILERS) F&SF Mag story

From: Endy9 <endymion91 at home.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 19:28:44 +0000

Just read this in the Oct/Nov issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine I
got in the mail yesterday.  Always excited to see a new Wolfe story
anywhere.

Once again the more Wolfe stories that come out the less chance there is of
me *thinking* I fully understand them.  I doubt I've had that feeling since
the early 80s.

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

S
P
A
C
E

I felt shock when within the first page I had figured out that this was a
story of aliens (misinterpreted as gods) visiting earth, so I knew Gene was
giving that away and the real mysteries were to come.

And once again I have mostly questions that I hope others here can shed
light on for me (smile).

1.  Any idea what the passage on p.110 means?  "Our long voyage through
space impressed them.  I doubt they grasped its length, for their concepts
of the five they call "time" are muddled, and so eroneous that they cannot
be termed primitive with any precision.  They will be primitive, perhaps,
when the sunlight reaches them on this place."

I don't understand the word "five" compared to time.

I don't understand where this place that sunlight will reach is to try to
determine when he things earthlings will reach primitive status.

2.  What is the deal about the earth not being a sphere because the desert
is a flat spot where gravity works differently?  Is the desert the
mysterious hidden "Eden" man is still searching for?  Something on a
different plane where gravity, time, etc. work differently that the alien
could see but man can't?

3.  Why does the narrator talk of traveling "alone" but make many references
to "others" who aren't earth dwellers from what I can tell?

4.  Sol died?  Is this in the future when the sun goes out or in the past
when man was more primitive.  The sentence about the earth man stopping his
beast and causing it to lie down on the desert sand for some reason made me
think it could be a camel in the past or a hovercar in the future.

Look forward to seeing others thoughts,

Thanks,
Dennis/Endy
http://members.home.net/endymion91/index.htm
--

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

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at home.com>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 12:24:17 +0000

Only one thought, and it's probably wrong:

>determine when he things earthlings will reach primitive status.

         The light from his own home sun, which he has outrun? Or are we in 
a nuclear winter?

>different plane where gravity, time, etc. work differently that the alien

         Is the "flat" area the site of a nuclear detonation?

Nutria