{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/5992",
    "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": 5992,
    "subject": "Home Fires questions (spoilers)",
    "messages": 2,
    "voices": 2,
    "first": "2011-04-07T15:21:17+00:00",
    "last": "2011-04-07T18:06:14+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<BANLkTimax8=gTjUfpFa+PyT2tEQjiUmWjg@mail.gmail.com>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Alex Carnevale",
        "address": "alex.carnevale at gmail.com"
      },
      "date": "2011-04-07T15:21:17+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Home Fires questions (spoilers)",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I have been a lurking reader of the list and really enjoy the\nconversations here. I had a few Home Fires questions & I thought those\nwho have read the novel already might shine a light. I just finished\nthe book last night, and it's amazing. I've always been a fan of\nWolfe's more-dialogue heavy recent style (I think The Wizard should be\nstaged), but this one was as good a thriller/mystery as he's ever\ndone.\n\nHere were a few things that I didn't fully comprehend after my first\nread. Many spoilers follow.\n\n1) It's pretty much outright said that Mr. Blue is an Os (which might\nmake make Holly Hollander's Mr. Blue an Os too, I'll have to check on\nthat). He never eats or drinks. He makes the cryptic comment about\ndestroying Earth when he talks to Skip on the ship the first time:\n\"Suppose they could get control of all the rest by blowing up this\none?\" He kisses his \"daughter\" on the lips. His wife and daughter\ndon't recognize him. Etc. Two things about his actions still puzzle\nme. The first is that I don't know if he was Charlie Blue during\ndinner with Chelle and Skip at the hotel before she left to join the\nmilitary. Skip says he never takes off his sunglasses indoors or out\nin that chapter, which suggests it might be the Os, but I really have\nno idea.\n\n2) Did Mr. Blue kill Zygmont because he was onto him? Was he also the\nshopkeeper who sold Vanessa her furniture?\n\n3) There must have been an EU spy (or perhaps more than one) on the\nship. Who was it? Trinity? Achille?\n\n4) Who stabbed Vanessa after she left the restaurant? Skip thinks of\nseveral reasons it's not Rick Johnson, and though he later recants,\nI'm not sure I believe him.\n\n5) I'm not totally clear on everything that happened on Johanna.\n(Hopefully Mr. Andre-Driussi will make a timeline!) How did Chelle's\nfiring squad execution of that soldier figure into the events?\n\n6) Lastly, most of Wolfe's narrators are liars in whole or in part.\nSkip seems pretty honest, which I suppose is ironic considering his\noccupation. He tells us his reason for becoming a JAG and opting\noffworld, and it's not wholly unbelievable. As smart as he is, I don't\nthink it's the real reason. He's going to be a colonel out there. What\nis his plan?\n\nMany thanks for answers (or guesses) at any of these.\n\nAlex Carnevale"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "message_id": "<4D9DFD16.9040001@io.com>",
      "from": {
        "name": "Jeff Wilson",
        "address": "jwilson at io.com"
      },
      "date": "2011-04-07T18:06:14+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Home Fires questions (spoilers)",
      "in_reply_to": "<BANLkTimax8=gTjUfpFa+PyT2tEQjiUmWjg@mail.gmail.com>",
      "reply_link": "header",
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 1,
          "text": "On 4/7/2011 10:21 AM, Alex Carnevale wrote:\n1) It's pretty much outright said that Mr. Blue is an Os"
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "He may be one of the Os if he's not a loa, or Os and Loas could be the \nsame thing."
        },
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 1,
          "text": "2) Did Mr. Blue kill Zygmont because he was onto him? Was he also the\nshopkeeper who sold Vanessa her furniture?\n\n3) There must have been an EU spy (or perhaps more than one) on the\nship. Who was it? Trinity? Achille?"
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I think any of the lower crew would be happy to take money in reutrn for \ngossiping about what goes on shipboard. Otherwise, does the EU have any \nreason to put a \"real\" spy aboard?"
        },
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 1,
          "text": "6) Lastly, most of Wolfe's narrators are liars in whole or in part.\nSkip seems pretty honest, which I suppose is ironic considering his\noccupation. He tells us his reason for becoming a JAG and opting\noffworld, and it's not wholly unbelievable. As smart as he is, I don't\nthink it's the real reason. He's going to be a colonel out there. What\nis his plan?"
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "I'd say Skip is telling the truth about his plans, though his motives \nmay be off. He's intending to continue living well thanks to his \nhigh-rank comission, and has arranged a non-combat role so he can be \nassured of coming back to Chelle when she's gotten her head together. \nHe's still assured of some respect from the fighting men and women due \nto his experiences under arms on the ship, and he's not above exploiting \nthat, and of course he won't lose his position at work as he explained."
        },
        {
          "kind": "sig",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com\nComputational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana\n< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}