What's So Great About Ushas?

b sharp · 21 Jul 2008, 17:35 · from 2008-July.txt.gz

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From: bsharporflat at hotmail.com (b sharp)
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:35:41 -0400
Subject: (urth) What's So Great About Ushas?
Message-ID: <BAY103-W8527F3771964BFF743AC0D78A0 at phx.gbl>

Aside from the recent snippiness I think this thread had been interesting and
productive. A lot of ideas have come out I never would have predicted when 
I started it last month.  I give credit to John Watkins; I haven't heard his approach
before; sorry I impugned his motives. 

It makes sense that some secular humanists might find BotNS a (did Dave Tallman
call it a..) cosmic horror story where evil triumphs in the end. It makes sense 
because many consider Christianity and the Bible to be a cosmic horror story.  But
John Watkins seems to be taking a different approach, finding this story a triumph 
of evil within aspects of Roman Catholic theology. (sorry not familiar with The Shrike).

I have harped on ancient mythological gods and monsters as antagonists or at least 
competitors to modern Judeo-Christianity but I guess Gnosticism could also fall into 
the category?  It seems surely relevant that Father Inire's area is marked by teratoid 
(monstrous) symbols while the witches' and Cumaean's tower is marked with gnostic 
symbols.  Not being a religious scholar I don't know how those might relate to Kabbalism
and Tzadkiel and Yesod and Ushas. But it makes me wonder if John Watkins is onto 
something or not.

Still I'm not ready concede this as a horror story. Other Wolfe stories have left me with a
feeling of horror and dread but not this one.  Have I been fooled by The Great Deceiver
into a toleration of genocide? Or is this really meant to be a story about a Christ-like
character who helped humanity approach heavenly divinity?

-bsharp
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