Subject: (urth) What might become of Ouen?

From: b sharp <bsharporflat at hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 03:37:04 +0000

At the risk of cluttering the list with my own issues, I'll toss this small 
one in the ring.  Just before Severian drops off Ouen at the house where 
Dorcas is mourning he tells him "We will not tell you who you are" "And we 
cannot tell you what you may become".

What might Ouen become? My unfortunately vulgar and simple mind can only 
think Severian is saying "you might become an MF as I have been a GMF". 
Someone please tell me that's not it!

---

From: Adam Thornton <adam at io.com>
Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 05:53:22 +0000

> Someone please tell me that's not it!

I think that's unnecessarily creepy.  Do we have any reason to  
believe that Severian can see Ouen's future?

I always took this to have its obvious meaning, "I will not tell you  
you are the Autarch's father, and what you may become is a matter of  
your own free will."

Adam