Severian's miraculous eclipse

Rex Racer · 26 Apr 2006, 15:15 · from 2006-April.txt.gz

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From: rex.racerx at gmail.com (Rex Racer)
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:15:43 -0400
Subject: (urth) Severian's miraculous eclipse
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"But given the way the Hieros etc etc can operate out of time, it's
certainly possible for the punishment to be inflicted before the
crime, so to speak. Or at any rate, for the seeds of the punishment
to be sewn before the crime is committed."

I guess that to me rings wrongly- it just doesn't seem to fit in with
certain (admittedly Christian (Catholic for me)) ideals of wrong and
punishment, especially taking into account the meaning of Severian's
name at that time (and please correct me if I misrecollect) as "Head
of Dawn." Apu is the beginning of the New Sun that will come (as The
Conciliator is its herald and Severian its self), not the beginning of
the punishment that necessitates its coming- at least to me.

The redemption being at hand before the punishment makes sense to me,
in as much as the Redeemer existed before we who needed redeeming in
theology; so the mechanism for Urth's renewal, once the Epitome had
been found (found himself?) worthy of it happening could take place in
the past. Several times, it is mentioned that some knew already
Severian had passed his test because of the powers he had which came
not from the claw, but his connection to his extra-solar self- the New
Sun.

I can see Heirodules planting the seeds of success in the distant
past, but it strikes me as uncharacteristically vindictive to my
reading of their characters for them to punish ahead of time. That
part of the book is hopeful and positive and someone the planting of
the black hole during that part seems to run counter to energia of
that moment in the text.

I can see where you are coming from, and we may be looking at the same
coin, but different sides; still, I must at this time respectfully
disagree and hold to my thought that the black hole came to be when
the offense occurred- that is, under The Monarch Typhon.

Quick Addendum about how long Triskele was with Severian: I just
always figured Severian was playing loose with the truth again, as he
does throughout his own text; I can see a young man given to
stretching or glossing over the truth trying to impress his odd,
seemingly fantastic visitors with various non-truths. I do not think
Mr. Wolfe nodded here, nor do I think Silk had an effect on the
history found in the Book of the New Sun. I think Severian was
fibbing.

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