The littlest apprentices

Jeff Wilson · 01 Nov 2006, 02:29 · from 2006-October.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:29:20 -0600
Subject: (urth) The littlest apprentices
In-Reply-To: <20061101010840.26996.qmail at web81407.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <20061101010840.26996.qmail at web81407.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <45480680.9000909 at io.com>

Brent Dyer wrote:
> I agree that your explanation is a possible way to harmonize the two
> inconsistent statements, and I didn't understand that it was being made
> before. But I don't see how it is supported by the text. Nothing in
> Severian's narrative indicates that he ever lived any where other than
> the Tower. Indeed, aside from the "nursing" memory, the earliest memory
> that Severian recounts is "stacking pebbles" in a Tower courtyard at a
> very young age (my impression was that he was about 2, or maybe even
> younger). When do these children in the off-site nursery come back to
> the Tower?

Presumably when they are judged old enough to be raised solely by men 
and boys, and there are no other obstacles to their induction. Such an 
obstacle might be a surfeit of clients after a purge or a series of 
scandals, when all men and boys are too busy to look after more toddlers.


-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
< http://www.io.com/~jwilson >

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