'Pian

Ranjit Bhatnagar · 28 Aug 2006, 19:05 · from 2006-August.txt.gz

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From: ranjit at moonmilk.com (Ranjit Bhatnagar)
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:05:58 -0400
Subject: (urth) 'Pian
Message-ID: <9c6b022b0608281205k2abd4543o247a615292f73cf at mail.gmail.com>

I worry that I've missed some obvious counter-argument, but it seems
to me that Appian and Paeon are one and the same.

Roy quoted:
> [...] "Paeon, who
> trained me, who was honey-steward fifty years gone by. I knew what he was in
> truth, for I had met him before." [...] (CITADEL, chapter XXV)

"I knew what he was" -- he was the Autarch, playing honey-steward as
Severian's predecessor played at whoremaster.

Tony:
> And finally we have the mysterious Paeon, whom Roy also mentions. You
> reason that the penultimate Autarch may have been 5-12 years old when
> Paeon trained him, 50 years ago, and I agree. But since we know Appian
> had been on the throne *at least* 12 years by then, doesn't that support
> my theory rather than yours?

... or MY theory :)

"Paeon" sounds like "Appian."  It could be his honey-stewarding
nickname, or perhaps even Severian's mishearing of the Old Autarch's
words.

- ranjit

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