More on Pike-as-aquastor. These from David_Lebling at avid.com:
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The question was raised (I don't recall by whom) of how one can see one's dead relatives in Mainframe if most people spend their lives (and deaths) outside the view of Windows, Glasses, and Monitors. I should think the answer is obvious. The data about the dead relatives is extracted from the viewer. That is, when (say) Horn talks to his relatives, it is his own memories of them that are used to create what he sees(*), perhaps with whatever "public record" scaffolding is available to Mainframe to firm them up.
This fits very nicely with Master Malrubius's explanation to Severian. Another mention of these creations appears near the end of "The Urth of the New Sun": Famulimus states categorically that the Hierodules only make eidolons of the dead. This also fits Patera Pike.
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However, I don't think aquastors turn into small dark things that fly out windows, so to me it's not quite an adequate explanation.
IIRC, Patera Pike doesn't fly; he dissolves. Surely we can find some other small dark character who flies out windows? <grin>
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