Subject: (whorl) Answers to ?s

From: David_Lebling <david_lebling at avid.com>
Date: Wed, 09 Apr 1997 10:22:21 +0000

[Posted from WHORL, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

> Does Rose have a daughter? We know that she has a son, but what about 
> 1:69hc?
> "At times Maytera Rose, kneeling before her daughter's image,..."

This is a wonderful find. We come to realize later that Rose identifies
herself with Echidna, and possibly has been possessed by Echidna. I
suspect we are seeing Rose-as-Echidna kneeling before an image of
Scylla, Echidna's daughter. Rose doesn't seem to have a secure hold on
her identity or her life. Does anyone else agree that she's in effect an
animated corpse, kept alive only by her prosthetics?

> And what's up with that scene with Urus and the Trivigaunti officer, 
> where they rendezvous for a clandestine meeting? And how would Horn >
have 
> known of it to write about it, and why?

We have suspected for a long time that Urus is a spy rather than simply
another escaped prisoner in the tunnels.  The Triv he meets is Major
Hadale, General Saba's Intelligence staff officer.  Urus is signing up
to spy for the Trivs.  The outcome we see soon after is the
assassination attempt in the Grand Manteion.

     -vizcacha
     (david_lebling at avid.com)