The Tomb of the Unknown Severian

Jeff Wilson · 24 Dec 2007, 15:05 · from 2007-December.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 09:05:24 -0600
Subject: (urth) The Tomb of the Unknown Severian
In-Reply-To: <1198492230.5696.43.camel@todd-desktop>
References: <9a33123d0712231145n6127e24cmee1542c337e48cc3 at mail.gmail.com>
	<1198492230.5696.43.camel@todd-desktop>
Message-ID: <476FCAB4.5000103 at io.com>

Todd wrote:
> I think that in one sense,  there is only one Severian and this is his
> way of describing the paradoxes involved in passing into his own past.
> 
> On the other hand,  it is an apt metaphor for the two divergent
> histories of Urth which are set up,  where everyone experiences the
> alterations made by Sev1,  thus everyone lives alternative existences.
> 
> If I may be excused for quoting a popular British Science Fiction
> program,  "it is a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey,"  in the sense
> that neither the future nor the past are set in stone.

...except that they are. As I recall, the good Doctor uses the phrase to 
describe when a moment in time is uncertain and resolves in favor of 
preventing a larger paradox by using information from "nowhere". Both 
recent uses involved him using information that ultimately came from an 
observation of himself using the information. The only time I can think 
of something like this happening in New Sun is Severian lifting one of 
his Conciliator speeches from Talos' play, which was ultimately informed 
by wossname's ancient account of the Conciliator's sermons.

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

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