All the Hues of Hell

Jim Jordan · 03 Jul 1997, 21:13 · from urth-v0002.mbox · original

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From: Jim Jordan <jbjordan at gnt.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) All the Hues of Hell
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 1997 21:13:56
Message-ID: <urth-v0002-0136 at digest.urth.net>
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[Posted from URTH, a mailing list about Gene Wolfe's New Sun and other work=
s]

	I'll bite.
	For one thing, the pregnant woman is named Marilyn, for Mary.=20
	For another, it seems that humanity is now ruled by machines (the Director
and Kyle, for instance). That's bad.
	Moreover, it is clear that Kyle (largely a machine) wants Marilyn. Did he
kill Skip? The implications are that he did. Skip, or his ghost, says that
Kyle wants the shadow man; he and the Director do.=20
	Is Skip right that the shadow man is a demon? There are hints that he is.
The shadow man has horns, which mystify robot Kyle.
	When the shadow man dies, Marilyn feels her baby move. Clearly, the shadow
man has moved into her womb. Antichrist is soon to be born. Compare the
*Fifth Head of Cerberus* original novella (part one of the triptych).
	The machine rulers of humanity have no perception of good and evil, or God
and demon. They simply worship all life, regardless of its place in the
scheme of things. Unwittingly, they have now introduced antichrist into the
world.
	The bird, Polyaris, realizes this. Poly means many, but Aris I did not
uncover.=20
	Color imagery: The bright colors of Polyaris are true nature colors; the
shadow is invisible. It may be seen (rightly) as a series of hellish hues
(Skip), or appear as an angel of light (Kyle and Marilyn).=20
	I'd take the title as the clue: This really is hell.

Nutria

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