{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/824", "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": 824, "subject": "abo profile and a new Jeannine theory", "messages": 1, "voices": 1, "first": "1998-06-18T01:01:53+00:00", "last": "1998-06-18T01:01:53+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "William H. Ansley", "address": "wansley at warwick.net" }, "date": "1998-06-18T01:01:53+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Re: abo profile and a new Jeannine theory", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Alga wrote:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "So we've actually seen how an abo or half-abo came to impersonate (or merge\nwith) a human, and the way he did was imperfectly. So imperfectly that #5\nsees through it (though I'm damned if I know how)." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Tony Ellis replied:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I've never thought that #5 sees through VRT's impersonation. I've always\nassumed that he was just being offensive. As he says: \"I had come to\nkill my father, and it was necessary that Dr Marsch leave.\" The fact\nthat by a million-to-one chance he hits on the truth would be just\ntypical Wolfe." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I agree with Tony Ellis here." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "alga wrote:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "Do we think that \"A Story\" was written by Marsch alone or\nby the JVM/VRT amalgam? If it were placed last in the sequence, surely the\nlatter. As it is, still probably the latter. But it's still a kind of fairy\ntale, not anything we can really rely on." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "adam louis stephanides replied:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I'm morally certain it was written by V.R.T. (See below on the \"amalgam.\")\nAs you and others have pointed out, Marsch is far too insensitive,\nespecially regarding the Annese, to write anything like it." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I agree with you here." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "The only\nproblem is that I recall reading an interview with Wolfe in which he says\nMarsch wrote it." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Ahhhhhhh, what does he know. He's only the author.\n\nadam louis stephanides again:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I hadn't seen this thoery of V.R.T. merging with Marsch before, but I have\nto stick to my belief that V.R.T. is just impersonating Marsch in the\nordinary way, perhaps aided by his shape-shifting abilities if he has\nthem." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I agree with you again." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "I don't find it implausible that he learned all his anthropology\nfrom books on Ste. Anne and St. Croix; he had three years in the\nwilderness to study Marsch's books, and could read more in the libraries.\nIn particular, his knowledge of \"anthropological relaxation,\" which\nanother poster had cited, could have been picked up in the local library\nafter he's realized what the Wolfes are." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I am \"another poster\". I agree that VRT could have learned enough\nanthropology from books so he could impersonate Marsch under the conditions\nhe found himself. But I find it impossible to accept that he could just\nlook at #5 and guess he's a clone by means of knowledge picked up this way.\nIt seems to me we run into a chicken and egg problem here. How could he\nfigure out the Wolfes are clones without knowing about anthropological\nrelaxation (AR) very well. And why would he bone up on AR unless he knew\nthe Wolfes were clones. Of course he could have some other source of\nknowledge about the Wolfes that we don't know about as you almost seem to\nimply, but, from the text, this seems unlikely and having to rely on events\ntotally unsupported by the text is unsatisfying, at best.\n\n5HC is full of people making guesses (spinning theories, telling \"A Story\",\netc.) most of them seemingly wild. We know that in two cases at least (VRT\nas Marsch guessing that #5 is a clone and #5 guessing that Marsch is an\nabo) the guesses are true. I am beginning to think that we are supposed to\naccept that these are just guesses that do happen to be true. Perhaps there\nis supposed to be some \"higher order\" reason for this, but the outcome is\nthat the guesses are right. I would like to build a grand theory on the\nidea that ALL the guesses in 5HC are true. Its too bad the they are so\ncontradictory.\n\nI have noticed an *interesting* parallel between the novella 5HC and \"A\nStory\". (What's with the quotes here anyway? A story is a fiction; is \"A\nStory\" then supposed to not be one?)\n\nA *lot* has been said about Aunt Jeannine's withered legs. Well, where else\ndo we find withered legs in 5HC?\n\n------------------\nIn the dark Sandwalker climbed, climbed on hands and feet like a beast,\nholding the feign-pheasant in his teeth until his fingers found the\npriest's feet and his hands the withered legs. [p. 80, Scribners]\n------------------\n\nWe have Sandwalker (an abo, maybe) going on a quest for reasons that are\nnot clear (it seems that he is sent to the priest because of his dreams) to\na priest with withered legs who apparently is dead. What good it is\nsupposed to do is also unclear; Sandwalker seems to expect advice or\ncouncil from the priests ghost. The priest lives in a cave, which is hard\nto find unless you have directions.\n\nWe have VRT as Marsch (an abo, probably?) going on quest for reasons that\nare not clear? (Wouldn't you think he'd want to avoid other anthropologists\nwho might see through his charade, even if he found the scholars from the\nlocal universities easy to fool?) to a doctor of anthropology with withered\nlegs, who isn't real (well is using a false name, anyway). This makes her\nhard to find. And what do Phaedria's friends (\"the kids\") call the house\nwhere Aunt Jeannine lives? The Cave!\n\nWell, I think it's interesting.\n\nWilliam Ansley" } ] } ] }