Subject: (urth) peacock murderer clues and two random bits.

From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 14:44:01 +0000

I am a bit surprised that no one mentions the most obvious hint that Peacock 
is going to kill Olivia.  We know that most of the names of the text (gold, 
black, "olive-ia", peacock blue, etc.) are associated with colors.  When 
colors appear, they are associated with these characters.  Read the section 
where Olivia and Peacock and Den are in the cave with the skull - Olivia 
places great importance on wrapping the remains of their dinner in blue ribbon 
and says that Weer will remember it later when it is important, and it will 
make sense.  This is her transtemporal way of saying that the seal on her own 
casket will be enacted by the man associated with blue - Prof. Peacock.  The 
death imagery in the whole cave scene is overwhelming, and Olivia even talks 
about killing Peacock as they descend, if I'm not mistaken. Throughout the 
text color really does invoke a particular character.  Also, in the embedded 
tales, anything with the initials S.B. invokes the banker and reveals a bit 
more about his situation.

Two more things - I got a letter the other day from Mr. Wolfe, and it was 
written on a manuscript page from In Green's Jungles.  I wasn't sure if it was 
a mistake or not, or what stage of revision it was from.  If it was textually 
different from the published version I was going to post it in it's entirety - 
alas, after finding the portion in the published book that corresponded with 
the pages.  The only change was one adjective - in the manuscript "a boar" 
became "a MATURE boar" in the published version. Shoot.

Finally, found a good quote in In Green's Jungles.  It is in the first 
chapter- I don't have the text directly in front of me, but since I'm typing I 
might as well put it down and then repost it later.  It is two paragraphs that 
says (in paraphrase which I will repost tonight exactly with page number) 
"Green was a whorl made for trees. Indeed, green was a whorl made by trees ... 
the only problem that the trees hadn't solved was that of the lianas."  
Remember that the only problem on green is that of the inhumi - and I insist 
that the liana are the inhumi and the trees are sentient.  (However, I would 
argue that the trees were made for Green) I will quote more later - but I grew 
weary of reiterating the same thing about these trees.
Have a good day.
Marc Aramini

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From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 01:02:02 +0000

on 10/28/02 8:44 AM, maa32 at maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu wrote:

> Read the section 
> make sense.

The passage actually reads:

  Aunt Olivia, having untied the blue thread that had held it shut in the
basket, peered into a small milk-glass with a lid shaped like a setting hen.
"Ah, olives," she said.  "Ripe olives.  I'd forgotten what I put in there.
Den may realize that, Robert, but it won't mean anything to him.  Not yet."
(p. 57, Harper hc)

So the blue thread (not ribbon) is untied, not tied; and there's nothing
about Weer remembering it "when it is important."  And in any case, by "it
won't mean anything to him.  Not yet," she seems to be referring to her
forgetting about the olives (which doesn't mean anything to me either), not
to the blue thread.  Later she leaves the empty dish in the cave (59), but
there's nothing about her wrapping it first, in blue ribbon or otherwise.

In any case, if this is the "most obvious hint," I hate to think what the
less obvious hints are.

--Adam

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From: Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net>
Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 08:11:42 +0000

>there's nothing about her wrapping it first, in blue ribbon or otherwise.

She's referring, I believe, to Peacock's question in the preceding
paragraph. Answering his question, actually, which was: "Do you think Alden
here realizes that this is the oldest house he has ever been in? Probably
the oldest house he will ever be in, even if he lives to be a hundred."

-Roy

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From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 22:01:32 +0000

> the oldest house he will ever be in, even if he lives to be a hundred."

D'oh!  Of course.  Thanks.

--Adam

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