Severian and the white fountain

mary whalen · 02 Jul 1998, 22:08 · from urth-v0015.mbox · original

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From: mary whalen <marewhalen at yahoo.com>
Subject: (urth) Severian and the white fountain
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 22:08:23
Message-ID: <urth-v0015-0091 at digest.urth.net>
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This is Sean Whalen (prion).

In the Urth of the New Sun, when Severian goes back in time to the
time when he becomes Apu-Punchau, I believe that when he is following
the Brook Madregot that since he is not linked to any one place in
Briah, he can draw power from the white fountain, even if he entered
the Brook from a point that was too far away from the fountain to have
yet been reached by its light.  So even though he goes back in time
when in the Brook, and the fountain thus moves farther and farther
away from where Severian was when he entered it, the fountain still
exists somewhere, and he can get power from it.  However, when he
reaches the point in the past where the fountain comes into existence,
he can not use its power to continue his journey, as it does not exist
beyond that time.  He then enters into Briah on Earth and is again
constrained by the distance he is from the fountain.  It has just come
into existence, and he can not come into contact with it's light until
the light reaches Earth, traveling at the speed of light (which is
much faster than the fountain itself moves).  He has no powers at that
place and time.  After a while, though, he is killed and put in a
sealed-up house.  Sometime later Ossipago, Barbatus, and Famulimus
come to that time and use their power to create an eidolon from his
memory.  Then he waits until the light from the fountain reaches him.=20
It does, and he now regains his power, so he goes into the future,
just as the power of the arriving light allows his old body to
resurrect itself.  Is this right?

prion

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