"Myfather's mounted guard"

Roy C. Lackey · 19 Nov 2008, 06:26 · from 2008-November.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:26:42 -0600
Subject: (urth) "Myfather's mounted guard"
References: <W367072754198161227036999@webmail20>
Message-ID: <005201c94a0f$ce57df80$bbcd4a0c@rclackey>

Son of Witz quoted and wrote:
> >From: Dan'l Danehy-Oakes [mailto:danldo at gmail.com]
>
> >Ummmm ... the Autarch supposedly has no children.
>
> It's not my theory, it's Borski's, from Solar Labyrinth, and the text
seems to support it. He's talking about before his unmanning. The text says
she was born in the house absolute and destined to sit on the throne.  The
Autarch's personal cat headed servants recognize her through Severian, why
would that be if she's just some noble.  Can you find any text that supports
that the Autarch did NOT have children.
>
> I'm not arguing FOR his conclusion, just that it is very compelling and
I've not yet seen a contradiction.<<

As for the issue of the Old Autarch being Thecla's father -- he cannot be
her or Thea's biological father, as I've said before, and recently. It's
this simple: Thecla is an exultant; the Old Autarch is decidedly not. He is
a little guy, scarcely taller than Cyriaca. One must be *born* an exultant,
of exultant stock. See the first appendix to CLAW.

One born of the mating of an exultant and common person is taller than the
average commoner, but notably shorter than an exultant. A person of such
mixture is regarded as a bastard, such as the fat guy outside Agilus' cell.

>>The date of the unmanning of Appian is probably crucial here. How much
older is Thecla? How long back was Appian unmanned?<<

He was unmanned not too long before Severian was born, then opened the
whorehouse about the same year Sev was born. See chapter XXIV, CITADEL.

The best determination I can make of Thecla's age is that she is a little
older than Sev, but not a lot older. Maybe 23-25.

-Roy

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