Gene Wolfe's New Sun stuff

Jonathan A. Kung · 02 Oct 1992, 18:42 · from sf-lovers.1992.mbox

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From: joak at ocf.berkeley.edu (Jonathan A. Kung)
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe's New Sun stuff
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:42:40 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v17-515-3 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V17 #515
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-17b

merritt at u.washington.edu writes:
>>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.

Don't understand the question?  No problem; neither do I.  I guess I
thought that the Hierogrammates (is that them, the trio with names like
Ossiforous or whatever) were from the next universe, come back to help
Severian because of something he did in his "first", original non-NewSun
incarnation that passed Zak's test and asked that an alternate Severian be
created that would become the New Sun.  (Ow.  Sharp pains in my head.)  If
they are indeed from Severian's birth-universe (what's the name, Briah? or
is that the other one?), then I was in error.

>>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.

I should clarify: the reason I had that notion was that the Autarchy goes
back a long way - that means a LOT of Autarchs.  Even if they took that
special alzabo drug (I think it was alzabo) to fully get the memories of
everyone before, there is no way that kind of info could be preserved
without at least some degradation without Severian's type of memory.
However, there is a bit of suggestion that this is not what happens - that
Severian kept most of his personality after taking the drug because of the
other Autarchs' diminishment over the years.

>>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.

Oh.  No reason.  Careless reading, I suppose.

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

But which one?  Do we know?  A post-Apu-punchau identity?

>>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.

He also died as Apu-punchau, and awoke in his tomb, I think, and that's
when I think the image of Master Malrubius comes again and talks to him.

>>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????

When Severian, in Urth, has travelled back to the past and become the
Conciliator, and is captured by some of Typhon's men, he is taken
to the future-Tortuerer's Guild and imprisoned.  One of the guards
there has a long sword described as having a square head.

And here're two more:
18. Did the Green Man ever fulfill his obligation to Severian?  Remember
    that his rescuing of Severian from the pyramid structure (?) was
    regarded by the Green Man as coincidental, so he still had to help
    Severian later on.  Is his obligation perhaps fulfilled when Severian
    is presented with the branching futures: the cold glacier one and the
    Green Man's?

19. Was the jungle area in the Garden with the three people, one woman, a
    man, and a naked man, in the hut an instance of time-travel?  I
    remember reading that Severian noticed that those people seemed to be
    ignoring or at least trying not to notice himself and Agia.

Jon Kung

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