Truth in eidolons

David DiGiacomo · 02 May 2006, 14:42 · from 2006-May.txt.gz

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From: david at slack.com (David DiGiacomo)
Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 07:42:17 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: (urth) Truth in eidolons
Message-ID: <10605021442.AA02441 at slack.com>

>They also explained that the eidolon of Severian created by Tzadkiel went on
>to eventually achieve independent physical substantiality by eating,
>breathing and the like. Then they faded into the past. That's still okay, so
>long as they didn't travel too far into the past for the machine on their
>craft to sustain his new body. But Severian soon escaped from the tomb and
>went far into the future, to the beach on Ushas. Why didn't he dissolve to
>nothingness, like Malrubius? We were led to believe that after the New Sun
>arrived he lost most of his supernatural powers. What sustained his body on
>Ushas long enough for it to achieve substantiality?

Severian was an unusual fellow, and his eidolon bulked up more quickly than
most.

It's also possible that B, F & O didn't know everything about eidolons (2
of them being youngsters, and the other one a not very intelligent robot).

>Aquastor Malrubius had imparted certain information to Severian, including
>"The Key to the Universe". If, as both Malrubius and the Hierodules claimed,
>an eidolon's mind is created from the mind of another, then where does the
>eidolon's knowledge come from if not the mind of the person it was created
>from? How could the eidolon of Malrubius know *anything* not known to
>Severian? Godel would not approve.

Eidolons must be able to acquire and store additional information after
they are created, or they wouldn't be able to carry on a conversation, or
otherwise interact.  The eidolon of Malrubius must have learned "The Key
to the Universe" at some point after being created, but before dissolving.

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