House Absolute

David Stockhoff · 03 Dec 2008, 22:39 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:39:29 -0500
Subject: (urth) House Absolute
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1228342158.21812.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
References: <mailman.1.1228342158.21812.urth-urth.net at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <49370AA1.9020100 at verizon.net>

That's a fine answer, especially the second part.

However, to be fair, Severian also remarks on tree stumps having been petrified, and then performs one of the speculations for which he is notorious, without pointing even slightly in the direction of hubris. Perhaps these can also be read as opportunities for Severian to be Severian.

David

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Message: 1
Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:49:58 -0600
From: Jeff Wilson <jwilson at io.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) House Absolute
To: The Urth Mailing List <urth at lists.urth.net>
Message-ID: <4936FF06.5020501 at io.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Tim Walters wrote:

>> >> It's also debatable that Urt's core really is cooling. The learned Ultan
>> >> and Palaemon seem to get most of their education from the piles of books
>> >> in the Library, and may have no way to know which books have outdated
>> >> theories; they may have enjoyed Bellamy's _Looking Backward_and gotten
>> >> the notion that the refrigeration of the earth is a foregone conclusion
>> >>   in the wisdom of the ancients.
>>     
> > 
> > What's the artistic point of the cliff scene, world-famous for its
> > evocation of deep time, if not to show that a gazillion years have passed?
>   

To show that many, many human societies have arisen, fallen, and been 
trampled unto dust, and the dust piled upon dust until it has become 
fused into rock. Wolfe may be one-upping Shelly: Not only is there 
nothing left of Ozymandias' works but sand and fragments, but they are 
deeply buried by the sand and fragments from his dozens of peers who 
followed.

> > What's the artistic point of mentioning the cooling of Urth's core, if not
> > to show that a gazillion years have passed?
>   

To show the ironically ignorant nature of the far future civilization ( 
paraphrasing "there is another word for it I can't recall, but lightning 
is what makes it go") who continue to be brought down by human hubris in 
their attempts to ascend to godlike heights of wisdom.

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