# Silk as Typhon *The Urth list — 5 messages, 5 voices, 08 Mar 2003* > 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. --- ### Roy C. Lackey *08 Mar 2003, 18:27* > Don wrote: > This has occurred to me, and here is my solution. The Gods in > mainframe are not actual visual representations of their scans but > archetypal god figures, unless of course Typhon's wife has snakes for > hair. The fact that Typhon had a hang-up about his appearance supports > this. He was eager to get rid of his second head. Why scan that into > Mainframe? It's a problem for consideration, but it's not fatal. The > thematic signs IMO point to Silk being Typhon. Then here is a somewhat more scientific objection. When Silk briefly "died" in that tunnel collapse, he was granted a 'vision' by the Outsider (and it _was_ the Outsider; Pas can't raise the dead) of his "parents". That 'vision' is treated in the text as every bit as valid as Silk's enlightenment. In that vision he saw _four_ parents, not three. The four were his "mother" (who gave birth to the embryo and raised him), his adoptive father (the old Calde Tussah), the "tall" "blue-eyed" man (who was his "biological" father) and the undescribed woman (who was his "biological" mother) (LS3:9). If that woman contributed biological material to the embryo that became Silk, then it is not possible for the embryo to have been a clone of Typhon, or of anyone else. -Roy --- ### Chris *08 Mar 2003, 19:02 · follows Roy C. Lackey* Roy sensibly objected: > mother) (LS3:9). If that woman contributed biological material to the > embryo > that became Silk, then it is not possible for the embryo to have been a > clone of Typhon, or of anyone else. This is a good point, and I think it points back to an older theory that Silk was an embryo that was intended to be a future body for Typhon/Pas after the landing. We already know that Typhon is not fastidious about the genetics of the body his mind inhabits - if anything he considers it an accoutrement or tool, and would want as "souped up" a version as he could get. Whether this was accomplished through eugenics, or some kind of genetic manipulation of his biological parents is impossible to say. I believe, as well, that this is not an insoluble problem in the grand scheme of Don's thesis. Thematically, it amounts to the same thing- Silk was intended to be Typhon, in either case. Of course, there is always the possibility that the people Silk saw were actually *Typhon's* parents, but it seems highly unlikely that Typhon's parents would have been alive to be scanned into the mainframe; and if they had, they would have had a place in Pas' pantheon. Chris --- ### Lisa Schaffer-Doggett *08 Mar 2003, 23:21 · follows Chris* > On Saturday, March 8, 2003, at 11:02 AM, Chris wrote: > > Roy sensibly objected: >> mother) (LS3:9). If that woman contributed biological material to the >> embryo >> that became Silk, then it is not possible for the embryo to have been >> a >> clone of Typhon, or of anyone else. > This is a good point, and I think it points back to an older theory > that Silk was an embryo that was intended to be a future body for > Typhon/Pas after the landing. We already know that Typhon is not > fastidious about the genetics of the body his mind inhabits - if > anything he considers it an accoutrement or tool, and would want as > "souped up" a version as he could get. Whether this was accomplished > through eugenics, or some kind of genetic manipulation of his > biological parents is impossible to say. > > I believe, as well, that this is not an insoluble problem in the grand > scheme of Don's thesis. Thematically, it amounts to the same thing- > Silk was intended to be Typhon, in either case. > > Of course, there is always the possibility that the people Silk saw > were actually *Typhon's* parents, but it seems highly unlikely that > Typhon's parents would have been alive to be scanned into the > mainframe; and if they had, they would have had a place in Pas' > pantheon. > > Chris Don replies, Thank you both for these important considerations. Without a second reading of the text, I don't have enough to work out my theory the way I would like to. Another possibility I have mulled over is that Silk is the son of Typhon instead. They are genetically related though, and I am 100% certain that Silk was meant to be the vessel for Pas. Another thing regarding theophanies. From what I recall they were never very common and the recipients of them all seem to see different things and have a fairly hazy memory of what they saw. So it is highly possible that no one really knows what Pas "looks" like. Personally, I think the 4 parents is a red herring like Dorcas and Ouen, but again I have to read the series with an eye to puzzles before I can argue with any confidence. I just appreciate you taking me seriously enough to reply at all. --- ### Andrew Bollen *11 Mar 2003, 12:36 · follows Lisa Schaffer-Doggett* Roy, seraphic & IMO irrefutable, writes: > Then here is a somewhat more scientific objection. When Silk briefly > "died" > in that tunnel collapse, he was granted a 'vision' by the Outsider (and it > _was_ the Outsider; Pas can't raise the dead) of his "parents". That > 'vision' is treated in the text as every bit as valid as Silk's > enlightenment. In that vision he saw _four_ parents, not three. The four > were his "mother" (who gave birth to the embryo and raised him), his > adoptive father (the old Calde Tussah), the "tall" "blue-eyed" man (who > was > his "biological" father) and the undescribed woman (who was his > "biological" > mother) (LS3:9). If that woman contributed biological material to the > embryo > that became Silk, then it is not possible for the embryo to have been a > clone of Typhon, or of anyone else. The only reason I have seen for thinking that Silk might be a clone is the vessel-of-Pas theory. But why should Pas want such a vessel? It is clear to me that the mainframe is the Olympus of these "gods". Like the Greek gods, they may foray out in human or animal guise, but this is slumming (or desperation). Who would willingly abandon Olympus forever? Pas' reign on Blue is to be heralded by the construction of a new mainframe/Olympus, not by the appearance of a fleshified Passilk. (BTW - Passilk: homoousios or homoiousios?) --- ### Jeff Wilson *12 Mar 2003, 01:04 · follows Andrew Bollen* > From: > "Roy C. Lackey" > Then here is a somewhat more scientific objection. When Silk briefly "died" > in that tunnel collapse, he was granted a 'vision' by the Outsider (and it > _was_ the Outsider; Pas can't raise the dead) of his "parents". That > 'vision' is treated in the text as every bit as valid as Silk's > enlightenment. In that vision he saw _four_ parents, not three. The four > were his "mother" (who gave birth to the embryo and raised him), his > adoptive father (the old Calde Tussah), the "tall" "blue-eyed" man (who was > his "biological" father) and the undescribed woman (who was his "biological" > mother) (LS3:9). If that woman contributed biological material to the embryo > that became Silk, then it is not possible for the embryo to have been a > clone of Typhon, or of anyone else. It =is= possible, if the biological parents are also =Typhon's= biological parents. (Or whoever's.) ``` Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com < http://www.io.com/~jwilson/gurps/ > -- ``` ---