Subject: (urth) Malrubius'n'Silk'n'stuff

From: Andrew Bollen <abollen at internode.on.net>
Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 07:51:46 +0000

Little things:

1. Malrubius sans Triskele appears to Sev once only, I think? The night of
his elevation to journeyman, when he's sleeping off his over-indulgence.
Malrubius pops his head in to check Sev's OK. This is also the first
apparition. Maybe this apparition is not like the others - a "real" ghost,
or a retro-fitted Silk, not an aquastor. This sort of makes sense, in the
context of GW's comments re Short Sun holding an explanation for Malrubius'
ghost. The Malrubius+Triskele apparitions already have an explanation in New
Sun - ie they're aquastors.

I'd like this better if there was some explicit connection in the text
between this apparition & Sev's betrayal of the Order very soon after. But
it does seem to fit with this interview comment by GW:

[Q] After the action of Short Sun closes, does Silk/Horn take an active
part, via astral projection, in the events in New Sun? Specifically, as the
"ghost" of Master Malrubius?
[A] Yes, but not a leading part.

In fact, it's the only Malrubius apparition which qualifies, IMO. I'd say
Malrubius-as-aquastor  is a "leading part" and it's adequately explained in
the New Sun text. (But maybe GW's answer here applies only to the first part
of the question, which opens up a whole new can of worms.)

2. I still find it hard to think that Silk and Malrubius look alike except
when robed & hooded identically, in the dark. All the descriptions I can
recall of Malrubius in life make him seem like a very ancient, decrepit
thing - folds of skin hanging off his chest, tufts of grey hair etc, and
presumably he has a face to match. This doesn't sound like our
mature-yet-studly Silk.

I can back-fill a little story fragment: Sev, still half-drunk, sees a
figure robed & hooded like Malrubius, or at least a figure not of the same
shape as the only other head of the Order he has ever known, Gurloes. On
sober reflection, he realizes it was actually astral Silk, and the
recollection of Silk's charisma etc inspires him (a little late) to Do The
Right Thing. He doesn't record this, because it would require an explanation
of Silk. Maybe.

3. If one wanted to explore the possibility that Silk gets inside Sev's
story and perhaps changes it away from the one we know, there is the small
matter of the discrepancy in the length of time Sev has Triskele, which I
pointed out before. But there's also the Merryn issue. They meet in RTTW,
when Sev fetches her to hang out with Jahlee (why does he do that?). When
they meet in Sword, they meet as strangers, to all appearances.

--