Severian's miraculous eclipse

b sharp · 27 Apr 2006, 12:19 · from 2006-April.txt.gz

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From: bsharporflat at hotmail.com (b sharp)
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 08:19:16 -0400
Subject: (urth) Severian's miraculous eclipse
Message-ID: <BAY103-F26C45577017AD8B9F46358D7BD0 at phx.gbl>

Thanks for all the helpful responses! I'm not the most computer literate but 
I think this is now in plain text and postable.

I am almost ready to bow to the "received wisdom" regarding Tzadkiel's ship 
as the source of the eclipse though I am still clinging a bit to Sev's  own 
ability to create natural phenomena, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, as 
a possible cause. Are there some who question that Sev caused the earthquake 
when hit by the convulsor in the courtyard?

I think I will agree with Tony Ellis (and Famulimus) that Apu Punchau lives 
in a time period previous to our own and that special forces keep the Stone 
Town as preserved as it is in Sev's time.  Unlike the primitive villages and 
towns of the future, Wolfe gives no hints here of a greater civilization 
existing previous to Apu-Punchau such as advanced relics or artifacts.  He 
makes no suggestion there is a larger civilization somewhere dominating and 
demanding tribute from Apu Punchau's village.  Faced with an attack by 
nomads, the village has only its own defenses to rely on.This suggests this 
is a pre-Pizarro and probably pre-Incan (1400's) empire village.

The question of the black hole (the flaw, the claw) being placed in our sun 
was brought up to explain what Tzadkiel's ship might be doing there at the 
"dawn of history".  I like the symmetry of the black hole and the white 
fountain being created simultaneously in our distant past and then reunited 
in our far-flung future. Severian ran through the Corridors of Time (Brook 
Madregot?) until he couldn't, suggesting he stopped at the time of the 
creation of the white fountain.  And also at the time of creation of the 
black hole? Has the black hole (size of a penny?) been very slowly eating at 
the sun through our history and lifetimes but not noticeable until the time 
of Typhon?

If Severian, as the New Sun, brings the white fountain, might he also, as 
Dark Sun, Head of the Day, bring the black hole?  Do humanity's sins 
(execution of a savior) extend far before Typhon to our earliest roots?  Is 
there any way that this bringing of the black hole (not the "opaque body") 
is the cause of the eclipse?  Could Apu Punchau have been killed in the year 
33 A.D.? (isn't Sev about 33 years old at this point?)

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