Subject: (urth) Hethor's mirrors

From: Alice Turner <al at interport.net>
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 08:35:16 +0000

Well, I'm not going to touch most of that mantic limbic conjecture, but I
will note that Hethor does indeed have a set of mirrors by which he
manipulates his beasties--Father Inire alludes to them in his letter to Sev
near the end of Citadel. How he transports them, I wouldn't know.

-alga-

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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From: m.driussi <m.driussi at genie.geis.com>
Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 13:57:00 +0000

alga,

Right, Hethor's mirrors aluded to by Father Inire.  But since the
only mirrors we see (mainly the "transporter pad" of the Presence
Chamber: about which Domnia told Thecla as Severian tells Agia [I,
ch. 20]; into which Jonas steps [II, ch. 18]; and into which the
cat is thrown into ["The Cat"]) are part of a room sized installation
(eight full length mirrors, with "labyrinths" aka teratoid signs on
their backs; some sort of laser-like light source at the center of
the mirror octagon), and since Hethor does not seem to be carrying
as much as a knapsack, then Hethor's mirrors must somehow be, kit
and kaboodle, pocket sized.

About summoning mirror critters: it seems that Chinese "magic
mirrors" are mirrors that seem normal but they reflect/project a
specific image, e.g., you can look at your face, but catch the
sunlight and you project the written character for "fire" into the
shadows.  The mirror silvering is only partial.

Father Inire tells Domnia that the Fish will materialize if they
don't darken the lamp or adjust the mirrors.  Suggesting that there
is a physical action rather than a psychic action: one dials up the
critter code on the mirrors rather than thinking strong thoughts of
influence.  But maybe not--Inire also seems to suggest that the Fish
is one of the first shapes to materialize; so there might be limits
to what a novice can catch with the mirrors, and only a real
fisherman can haul in the wild and very big creatures as Hethor does.

So Hethor, staring into his pocket compact, draws forth a half dozen
flying mounts for Vodalus?  Yikes!

=mantis=

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From: mary whalen <marewhalen at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 18:29:47 +0000

This is Sean Whalen (prion).

A while ago I think there was some question about how big Hethor's
mirrors would have to be for him to get all those creatures through
them.  It's possible that all the creatures had a small original form
or that they can fold their bodies enough to make it through.  That
would take care of how Hethor could carry small mirrors around with
him that bring out large beings.

However, the mirrors (that's what they're always called in the story,
so I'll assume he has more than one) could summon large beings
withought being large at all. With three small handmirrors arranged on
the ground in a triangle with each bent back at an angle, in the area
where light from the three combine, a fairly large creature could
appear.  Remember how Jonas never goes through the Inire's mirrors, he
just stands between them at the point of confluence and is sent away.

prion

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