Subject: (whorl) Urus is "auroch"

From: m.driussi <m.driussi at genie.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 1997 03:14:00 +0000

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

Reply:  Item #0885661 from WHORL at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET#

Dave,

Re: PANDORA, oh yeah.  And I keep meaning to write an essay on that
one, too.  (Maybe once I get this current thing out of the way?)

Re: Urus-no-pus.  Not sure, but I think it means that he isn't a real
prisoner; instead he's some form of spy skulking around in the
tunnels.  But that is odd because: Auk knows him from Viron's crime
scene and remembers him being sent to the pit (elaborate cover story?
If so, explains why they lowered him down rather than tossing him);
if he got into the tunnels by any way other than the pit then he would
be in a better position to know a way out; if he =is= a lost spy, then
he certainly doesn't work for the Trivs, otherwise he would have used
that info with the Triv contact (Siyuf) he makes at Trotters.  And Mint
gives him that lecture on how evil he is.  Makes a reader wonder, it does.

Rock,

(Is that short for "Rock Lobster"? <g>)  Conspiracies certainly
abound on the Whorl, that is for sure.  For example, the Lemuroid
Conspiracy seems to have been secretly infiltrated by a chem
conspiracy; the church says there is no such thing as a "black
mechanic," and yet the one visible group that meets under that name
seems to be largely made up of augurs (and sibyls, too?), and they
prey upon chems for their amusement (often blasphemous, always
unethical treatment of sentient creatures--very close to slavery);
the chems covet the prosthetic parts that some lucky bios have; etc.

Like you, I wondered to alga that for all we know, Green is the
lesser of two evils--maybe Blue is their prison planet.  She didn't
go for that.  Me, I don't know.  We'll just have to wait and see what
the Short Sun series brings to us (which is what alga said, too) . . .
but I've heard it is going to be a very challenging trilogy, so answers
will probably be as clear or cut and dry ("clear cut"?) as anything in
THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS.  (Or "Silhouette," for those who have read
that Wolfe novella.)

=mantis=

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