Merryn and Triskele

Adam Thornton · 06 Apr 2006, 14:12 · from 2006-April.txt.gz

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From: adam at io.com (Adam Thornton)
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 09:12:28 -0500
Subject: (urth) Merryn and Triskele
In-Reply-To: <007901c6594f$1a2d4260$1a3ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>
References: <007901c6594f$1a2d4260$1a3ec6d8 at rclackey.stic.net>
Message-ID: <CCCA3E5D-356F-45E5-8692-9DCDC29EDB2F at io.com>

On Apr 6, 2006, at 2:52 AM, Roy C. Lackey wrote:

> Andrew quoted and wrote:
>>> Is it clear that more than a week passes _for Sev_? I ask because
>>> we know that at least some of the Narrator's astral travels are
>>> also
>>> travels in time...
>>
>> Do we know that? Not denying it, but I don't recall anything which
>> suggests time travelling.
>
> Excuse me, but these speculations on the relativistic effects of
> acceleration on the _Whorl_ have nothing to do with the astral  
> travels Dan'l
> mentioned. Silkhorn did his traveling while on Blue. How long it  
> took the
> ship to get from Urth to Blue, and how much time has passed on Urth  
> since it
> voyaged, is another subject.

But it isn't: knowing whether Severian is in Blue's past light cone,  
its future light cone, or outside its light cone entirely *is* a  
relevant question.  It only becomes irrelevant if we take as a given  
that relativity doesn't exist in the New/Long/Short Sun universe, and  
even then we're left with the question of, if there is a Universal  
Now and astral travel is instantaneous, then is Severian in the same  
Now that Silkhorn is?

> I agree with Andrew in that I see no evidence in the text to  
> suggest that
> astral travel also involves time travel.

Well, if it is instantaneous--and it must be, or Silkhorn would be  
gone a very long time on his trip to Urth--then either there's no  
relativity in Wolfe's universe, or it *does*.

Adam

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