A Slow-Moving, Half-Living, Smiling, Pale-Limbed "Statue"?

Jeff Wilson · 18 Nov 2007, 23:04 · from 2007-November.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:04:18 -0600
Subject: (urth) A Slow-Moving, Half-Living, Smiling,
	Pale-Limbed "Statue"?
In-Reply-To: <BAY106-W42C30D4AC8356967C81D76857D0 at phx.gbl>
References: <ca4bdd8f0711170051s78a81d75u3926ca6783ab4e82 at mail.gmail.com>
	<BAY106-W42C30D4AC8356967C81D76857D0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4740C4F2.8080900 at io.com>

Pedro Pereira wrote:
> Hi, Adam.
>  
> I don't remember the books all that well, but I think that "statue" is 
> exactely the same type of statues that Severian finds in BotNS when he 
> gets near the House Absolute for the first time. I don't remember very 
> well as I said, but my impression is that they are some kind of "robot" 
> or bioengeniered beyings. I think it was clear in BotNS.
>  
> Sorry I can't be of more help. By the way, this is my first post here. :)
>  
> Pedro

Welcome to the monkey house, Pedro.

Bionics (in the literal meaning of "mimicing life") seem to be fairly 
common in  Severian's era, thus the confusion over Jonas' true nature, 
the description of construction mechas as "giants" in the mountains 
around Typhon's tomb, and the particular attention paid to stationary 
statuary like the Eponyms and the allegedly mineralized bodies excavated 
at Saltus. This may be because conventional moving machinery would be 
much less likely to survive from the eras of its creation, while some 
bionics would seem to share the ability of living things to heal damage 
and wear, and so "half-living" machines tend to become a larger 
proportion of those surviving to be observed by him in the time of the 
Autarchs.

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

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