The Apu-Punchau Eclipse

Jeff Wilson · 12 Jun 2008, 08:13 · from 2008-June.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:13:43 -0500
Subject: (urth) The Apu-Punchau Eclipse
In-Reply-To: <001d01c8cc1f$ff44a380$edcc4a0c at rclackey.stic.net>
References: <001d01c8cc1f$ff44a380$edcc4a0c at rclackey.stic.net>
Message-ID: <4850DAB7.9050106 at io.com>

Roy C. Lackey wrote:
> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
> 
>> Tzadkiel's Ship -- *counting its sails*, is significantly bigger than a
> mile
>> in diameter, at least for purposes of shadow-casting. Solar sails have
>> to be (a) very very large and (b) quite opaque in order to be effective.
> 
> Dan'l is correct. The Ship has seven sides, the decks covered by "masts
> beyond counting". (URTH, I, 2) Some of the masts are "separated by tens of
> leagues at least". (I, 6) Many sails are improbably *huge*:
> 
> "Rising over the topmost sail as the New Sun of Urth
> might someday rise above the Wall of Nessus (yet far, far
> larger and more beautiful than even the New Sun can ever
> be, just as that smallest and uppermost sail was an entire
> continent of silver, compared to which the mighty Wall of
> Nessus, a few leagues in height and a few thousand long,
> might have been the tumbledown fence of a sheepfold),[...]
> (XIV, 103)
> 
> The Ship's overall size has to be on a planetary scale.

I don't think this is supported by "Masts sprout from every deck, a 
hundred times taller than the Flag kepp of the Citadel," or by Severian 
being able to leap clear the distance from the deck to the startop 
wihtin a few minutes of indulging himself. (At least, he does not remark 
on the passage of time or become concerned over needing to eat or drink.)

> This eclipse business just isn't that hard. All the Ship has to do is travel
> in a straight line between the sun and Urth, at the appropriate distance to
> achieve eclipse, and veer to one side to uncover the sun at the right
> moment.

A straight line with a sudden veer require the removal of gravity and 
inertia from the picture. Not that the Yesodis can't do that if they 
need to, but why bother with sails at all if you can do that?

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

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