Gene Wolfe's New Sun stuff

Ethan A Merritt · 02 Oct 1992, 17:48 · from sf-lovers.1992.mbox

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From: merritt at provolone.bchem.washington.edu (Ethan A Merritt)
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe's New Sun stuff
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:48:08 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v17-515-2 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V17 #515
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-17b

joak at ocf.berkeley.edu (Jonathan A. Kung) writes:
>1.  Who Severian's mother is.  I have a hunch that she's Dorcas,
>    tortured by the Guild for some reason, so they took Severian in.

Yes, Dorcas would appear to be Severian's mother.  I don't recall whether
there was specific indication that she was tortured by the Guild other than
the general explanation of how apprentices were often acquired.

>2.  Who that servant that ran away after passing the warning note
>    in the inn by the Sanguinary Fields is.  Is he the one that
>    married Dorcas at the end?

He says in the note (in regard to Dorcas) "You are my mother come again" -
so the implication is that he would be Severian's brother.

>3.  That old man Dorcas was mourning at the end of the Book - was
>    that her husband?

I presume so.

>4.  That business with the aliens from the other universe - in which
>    universe does Book take place, and in which ones does Urth take
>    place, and how are they related.

Huh? I don't think I understand the question.  All the action in BotNS
takes place in "this" universe.  In "Urth" Severian travels to the "other"
universe and returns.  I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "aliens from
the other universe".  I believe that all the "aliens" in BotNS are from
"this" universe.

>5.  The first Claw that Severian got - was it really "magical"?  Or
>    did it glow because of previous contact with the past Severian?
>    Or did it glow because Severian wanted it to?

Tenses will do you in here. It's past contact was with a future Severian.
But Severian'a access to the power of the New Sun seems to transcend linear
time, so I think you could explain it either way.

>6.  Why I always fell asleep after reading every hundred pages or so.

Too much to think about???

>7.  Is Severian the first Autarch with his kind of memory?  I had at
>    first thought that each Autarch had perfect memory, and each one
>    would wait until the next person with perfect memory came along,
>    and then groom him for the Autarchy.

Interesting question.  I pass on that one.

>8.  Book takes place in the VERY far future, right?

Can't really say.  As someone pointed out earlier, the decay of good 'ol
Sol is artificially induced, so the natural lifetime of the star is not
relevant.

>9.  Was the Citadel originally a "space ship"?  There were some
>    references to "cabins" for the journeyman with "portholes", and
>    Severian once says, I think, how wonderful it would be if the
>    tower just blasted off into space like it was meant to.

Definitely.  This is abundantly clear in a number of places.

>12. What the HELL is the deal with Apu-Punchau?  I don't think I can
>    get it straight without a bit of help...

[Direct SPOILER ahead]

This is part of the narrative in "Urth".  Severian returns from the other
universe into the past of this one, where he lives as Apu-punchau. However,
due to time loops he ends up being present more than once at the same
time/space coordinate.  It is explained that this can cause multiple
"copies" of the personality so duplicated to merge into a single copy.  The
"copy" of Severian which continues on into the rest of the narrative has
absorbed the Apu-punchau copy as I read it.

>13. Typhon - why didn't he remember Severian's face from before and
>    kill him when he had the chance the second time (for Typhon) they
>    met?

What makes you think he didn't? Typhon certainly seemed to think he would
gain something substantial from control of Severian. He certainly made
believable threats to kill Severian if he didn't capitulate.

>14. What was the deal with the fights in space on the ship that sailed
>    between universes?  I was kind of unclear on this (along with
>    everything else I'm asking about).

Well some of them were instigated by Abbaia's agents in an attempt to kill
Severian.  Others may just be ongoing politics as usual.

>15. Whose crypt does Severian lie in?  It's from one of his past lives,
>    right?

Yes.

>16. Severian dies several times, but is cloned by the Hierogrammates,
>    or something, right?

Again I'm not sure exactly what your question is.  If you mean are
Severian's multiple lives due to cloning then no, I don't think this is the
case.  If you mean did Severian die in the ship travelling to the other
universe (Yesod is it? I can't keep the two names straight) then I think
the answer is yes, or almost, but whether his resurrection was courtesy of
Zak or his own power I can't quite follow.

>17. Terminus Est was originally the property of that one guard in the
>    past, right?

You have finally hit a totally new one to me! What guard????

Ethan A Merritt

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