Subject: (urth) (TBOTN) Nessus, Citadel, Wall

From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at siriusfiction.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 21:19:28 +0000

Nessus-the-mobile, the Citadel, and the enigmatic Wall.

For simplicity's sake, let's suppose that the citadel is located in the
exact center of a circular Wall.

Now then, in Typhon's time (in URTH), the "towers" are still ships.  The
doctor who checks Sev refers to the "zoetic transport," for example.  I'm
pretty sure we don't see Nessus in Typhon's era in URTH (we go from Saltus
to the Citadel); and in the Long Sun books I believe we have indication
that in Typhon's era the Citadel was at the northern edge of the city,
rather than being at the southern edge as it is in Severian's childhood.

So my question about where "Nessus" is at any given era relates to where
the leading edge and trailing edge are in relation to the citadel complex.
The citadel is like an island garrison, and Nessus is a tide that rises up
and finally past it.

If there were breaks in the wall, these would serve as access ways; but
what we see at the one gate is a tunnel like a mine shaft.  Presumably the
river passes through a similar tunnel, but Severian is maddeningly silent
on this (I think he literally sleeps through it on the Samru).

The Wall is far from the sea.

When I wrote about "gigantism" in gothic, I thought of CASTLE OTRANTO (the
giant there being a ghostly arm, iirc), and for genre of course I thought
of THE NIGHT LAND.  I nearly mentioned hartshorn by name in that regard --
I didn't, but he has popped up anyway.  Yay!

More gigantism in TBOTNS: the league-high cliff, the carved mountains, the
monster-mammals (baluchitherium, mammoths, et ali), the undines, the thing
in the mine at Saltus (sounds big, at least) . . .

Right, the =Citadel= is the one with walls of unsmeltable metal.  The Walls
of Nessus, who knows?  They are said to be honeycombed; basically an
anthill of the Autarch's freaky soldiers.  Beastmen, anpiels, things like
that.

=mantis=

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From: matthew.malthouse <matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 08:03:20 +0000

>on this (I think he literally sleeps through it on the Samru).

Dr Talos says there are 12 gates and names at least some of them, he and 
Baldanders having traversed one entering the city on the way south, two 
more going and retuning from the southern lands and about to travel the 
fourth, the Gate Piteous, with Severian and company going home.

Matthew

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