What's So Great About Ushas?

David Duffy · 16 Jul 2008, 05:14 · from 2008-July.txt.gz

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From: David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:14:47 +1000 (EST)
Subject: (urth) What's So Great About Ushas?
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On Wed, 16 Jul 2008, Paul B wrote:
>
>> So why do Abaia and Erebus require subjugation of the humans of Urth when
>> as Severian says, they could eradicate humankind in a day?
>
>
> I imagine that, much like Typhon (from whom they may be descended if Scylla
> of BotNS is Scylla of BotLS), it's because they want slaves and worshipers
> rather than dead bodies.  Perfectly comprehensible.
>
>
>> One of the ways I see BotNS is as a dialogue with Frank Herbert in _Dune_
>
>
> You can think whatever you wish, the more important part is whether you can
> provide evidence that it's true.

re Dune, _res ipsa loquitur_ -- how many other books have a hero that gets 
continual access to his line of forbears following a drug trip and becomes 
emperor as a result.

re Empire Star, the heroine is Sai Severina, time travel...

re Star Maker, which other SF writer had multiple universes with iterative 
refinement of the inhabitants.

>
> While you're mentioning Dune, don't forget that Paul and Leto II's similar
> powers of imperfect foresight caused them no little moral agony, and Leto's
> course of action (which Paul didn't take because he thought it too horrible)
> was roundly condemned by almost all of his human contemporaries, and even
> Leto himself agreed with its injustice.

Sure, but the point is that he does make the decision which according to 
his foreknowledge is the only long term solution. Again the point is that 
his vision of the outcomes is certain, and so his behaviour "right".

> It's entirely possible that what the Hierogrammates did to Urth was good in
> the end, but that doesn't justify the way they did it.

Well, most of Wolfe's oeuvre is deliberately ambiguous.  In _CotA_, 
Severian wonders if the power of the Claw comes from Abaia, and was part 
of a diabolical plan to get a torturer in as Autarch.

David Duffy,

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