Subject: (whorl) more Blue mysteries

From: Fernando Q. Gouvea <fqgouvea at colby.edu>
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2000 13:18:13 +0000

As I mentioned in another email, I've just reread OBW, which was quite
rewarding. Some things I still don't understand...

1) What happened in the pit? It seems likely that Horn died and was brought
back to life. By a neighbor? (Someone with a long nose or a spider...)
Notice that there may be a bit of "astral travel" here.

2) Where was Oreb? Looking for Silk? One presumes he must have come with
Horn from the Whorl...

3) What happened in the forest? Horn says he talked about the neighbor's
god that lives in the forest to Brother and Sister, so that seems the most
likely explanation.

4) What does "Wijzer warned me" on page 366 refer to?

5) I still don't understand the Horn/Babbie bit. First of all, Babbie was
supposedly left in Pajarocu, so how does he suddenly show up? The sequence
is sort of like this (starting on page 376):

 - Horn goes to sleep
 - A period that seems long to him passes
 - He hears himself calling Babbie
 - He gets up on his hands and knees (all the motions for the next couple
   of paragraphs are consistent with him having taken the shape of Babbie,
   but then what of the references to clothes below?)
 - The inhumi are gone
 - He crawls out of the hut, sees the fire, etc. (so he is still in the
   boat - if he is now in Babbie's body, where is Horn's body?)
 - He hears someone calling for Babbie from the shore, and understands he
   is being called.
 - He describes his clothes, trousers, waistband, etc.

6) Clearly the events at the very end of OBW are very important. Who are
the Brother and Sister?

7) Has anyone figured out the geography? How are the cities in IGJ located
in relation to Gaon/Han? (Close, certainly, but is it the same river?) 

OK, enough questions. I'm going through IGJ again, enjoying myself every
inch of the way.

Fernando

-- 

Fernando Q. Gouvea                      
Department of Mathematics          Editor, FOCUS and MAA Online
Colby College                      Mathematical Association of America
Waterville, ME 04901               http://www.maa.org
fqgouvea at colby.edu                      
==========================================================

Yesterday upon the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today --
I think he's from the CIA.

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