{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/4594", "note": "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.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 4594, "subject": "red ,gold and Baldanders", "messages": 1, "voices": 1, "first": "2006-05-16T19:22:29+00:00", "last": "2006-05-16T19:22:29+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "b sharp", "address": "bsharporflat at hotmail.com" }, "date": "2006-05-16T19:22:29+00:00", "subject": "(urth) red ,gold and Baldanders", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "mourning glory presents two bits of evidence that Jolenta is Sev's sister:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "One comes from the play, Eschatology and Genesis. At one point the \nInquisitor tells the Familiar, \"Bring in the woman said to be a witch, \nBrother.\" To which the Familiar responds, \"The Contessa waits outside, and \nas she is of exalted blood, and a favorite of our sovereign's, I beg you to \nsee her first.\" Indeed, the Contessa -- played by Jolenta -- is presented \nfirst, but if she really is Severa the Inquisitor's command has actually \nbeen obeyed, if ironically so." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Then there's a passage about Agia and Agilus, and following the latter's \nexecution: \"From far away came a scream, Agia's voice as unmistable as *a \nface seen by lightning.* Something in its timbre made me feel she had not \nbeen watching at all, but had known nevertheless when her twin died.\"\n\nNow compare this to Severian's description of Jolenta after the events in \nthe stone town: \"Our mounts were gone. On the roof, so were the witches; \nDorcas, alone, bent over the body of Jolenta. *By lightning, I saw the dead \nface* of the waitress who had served Dr. Talos, Baldanders, and me in the \ncafé in" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Nessus.\"\n\nThanks for bringing those to attention! Both seem significant. The lightning \nface echo is more convincing to me and I've not written off Jolenta as \nSevera yet. On the other: the Contessa might be associated with Jolenta, \nplaying her, but she might also be related to a few other key characters who \nmight be connected the witches. More on that later.\n\nOn to yesterday's quiz:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "so who is the character decribed in unequivocally golden terms. He has \nseveral pieces of gold jewelry and\ngolden hair (and blue eyes)." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Very interesting guess, Dr. Talos. He does have that gold headed walking \nstick and that could be relevant here. But he has red hair not golden. What \nIS Dr. Talos anyway? Severian asks and is told \"a homunculus\". What is a \nhomunculus (latin for little man)?\n\nWell, the alchemist Paracelsus' homunculus was a creation from \"a bag of \nbones, sperm, skin fragments and hair from any animal of which the \nhomunculus would be a hybrid. This was to be laid in the ground surrounded \nby horse manure for forty days, at which point the embryo would form.\" Was a \nfox actually involved with Talos? Um nah... Baldanders is a real scientist.\n\n300 years ago some true scientists felt that \"each sperm was in fact a \n\"little man\" (homunculus) that was placed inside a woman for growth into a \nchild;\" This sounds more like cloning.\n\nThere are a couple references to Baldanders as Dr. Talos' father which \noriginally led me to believe that Baldanders cloned Talos from his own \ncells. Now both are small men (originally) but I think Baldanders has dark \nhair thatched with gray. Why would Talos come out with red hair? What other \ngene source could have been used? Someone who is strong in all the ways \nscientist Baldanders has weakness.\n\nA few posts ago I tried to compile a list of red haired characters coming up \nwith, aside from Talos: Roche, Jolenta, Fechin and Daria. Let's add the \nalzabo to that list for completeness.\n\nA surprising amount of circumstantial evidence points to Fechin as a \ncandidate. Aside from having red hair he is from the right time frame (2-3 \ngenerations ago), and is probably from the right geography (north, near \nThrax and Lake Diuturna). Also to consider is the obvious artistic flair of \nTalos and his ability to quickly convince a woman to do anything (leave your \njob, undergo major surgery, cavort naked on stage, no problem!). His lack \nof interest in money may also be Fechin-like.\n\nWell, once you have created a zygote/embryo/homunculus, you need a place for \nit to grow. Thus, perhaps we can determine the use of the eviscerated Pia \nlook-alike in Baldander's lab. And what homunculus did Baldanders recently \ngrow there?\n\nIn Baldander's bedchamber, Severian encounters a giant baby catamite (boy \nsex object of a pedophile). If there is doubt on whether there is sexual \nintention, the baby's gold jewelry, the rich red bedding and the mirror on \nthe ceiling should leave no doubt.\n\nPedophiles are often attracted to children because of their perceived \ninnocence. Baldanders had recently been in close contact with a person \nrepeatedly described as innocent looking, the only other character (along \nwith the catamite) to have golden hair and blue eyes. But perhaps just a \nbit too feminine for Baldy.\n\nI think it is interesting that the other biological scientist we meet later \nin the jungle is also a pedophile. Remembering the boy Mamas, it all makes \nme wonder which of Talos' duties he resented more when he was a boy himself. \nWhacking Baldanders with his cane could be motivated by more than just \ncaretaker duties.\n\n-bsharp" } ] } ] }