Subject: (urth) Changing Sev

From: thalassocrat at nym.hush.com <thalassocrat at nym.hush.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 07:39:28 +0000

On the same theme as before ...

In Ch IV of Shadow, Sev says of his finding Triskele: "I felt that 
it could have & should have changed everything, but it was only the 
episode of a few months [ie, the week he had him & the remainder of 
winter, during which he saw him once or twice a month] and when it 
was over ... nothing had changed."

In Ch 19 of RTTW, Sev makes his comment about not putting SilkHorn 
in his book, because nobody would believe it. Remembering this 
prompts Hide/Hoof (whichever) to write his little passage about 
SilkHorn's terrifying goodness, concluding: "... I think when 
somebody is really, really good, as good as he was, the rules 
change." 

So maybe a hint that the change Sev had expected in Shadow will now 
actually occur in a new time-line, because of SilkHorn. 

Thinking about what happens to Sev during the RTTW episodes, I do 
find it hard to believe that subsequent events will follow the New 
Sun course. Can Sev really carry on as torturer after basking in 
the glow of SilkHorn's preternatrual goodness?

Interrupted by Oreb while dragging Sev away, Gurloes flees from 
what he thinks is a sudden apparition of the dead Malrubius. 
Instead of following him, Sev calmly takes his visitors down to 
meet Triskele. What would the next meeting between Gurloes and Sev 
be like??? I don't see Sev getting away from any such meeting free 
& unmaimed. I think Sev's off through the underground corridoors 
with Triskele, a torturer no more ...

Actually, though, the first meeting between Sev and SilkHorn is 
also puzzling in this regard. SilkHorn, Hamer, Jahlee & presumably 
a whole bunch of others from Hamer's courtroom get locked up in the 
Matachin tower, no doubt on the orders of Gurloes (whom SilkHorn 
sees; after a while they disappear. What does Gurloes do??? Also, 
Sev brings SilkHorn pens and paper and hangs out with him, totally 
contravening ati-ftaernization codes of conduct in a w

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From: Roy C. Lackey <rclackey at stic.net>
Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:11:19 +0000

>contravening ati-ftaernization codes of conduct in a w

Your post broke off mid-word. Where's the rest of it?

-Roy

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From: thalassocrat at nym.hush.com <thalassocrat at nym.hush.com>
Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 21:20:27 +0000

On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 04:11:19 +1000 "Roy C. Lackey" 
>Your post broke off mid-word. Where's the rest of it?

Oops - wanted to think more about that; left it in by mistake.

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From: Thomas Bitterman <tom at bitterman.net>
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 01:52:10 +0000

thalassocrat at nym.hush.com wrote:
> Sun course.
If they don't, how will Sev write the book that Wolfe found and we read?
> Can Sev really carry on as torturer after basking in 
Many people were able to continue being bad after meeting SilkHorn.  I'd 
like to think
that Severian found SilkHorn just as tedious as I did and was just 
humoring a well-meaning
but dotty old man.

Perhaps Wolfe is using the meeting to point out the dangers of using a 
book written many
years after a previous book to interpret the former.

enamel