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Abaia and the undines

Son of Witz · 09 Dec 2008, 19:23 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: sonofwitz at butcherbaker.org (Son of Witz)
Date: Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:23:20 +0000
Subject: (urth) Abaia and the undines
Message-ID: <W503031070535921228850600@webmail39>


>> This is Jonas'  story of the black beans:
>
>I can't make more of that than maybe they were quantum black holes that 
>ended up being chucked in the sun instead. Jonah is also our source for 
>the Great Beasts being mountain-sized.


I believe we see Abia and Erebus in Severian's Undine Dream. Shadow 15

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Far off loomed great shapes - things hundreds of times larger than a man. Some 
seemed ships, and some clouds; one was a living head without a body; one had a 
hundred heads. A blue haze obscured them, and I saw below me a country of sand, 
carved by the currents. A palace stood there that was greater than our Citadel, 
but it was ruinous,
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Hundreds of times larger than a man.
Living head without a body,
one had a hundred heads.

This is a hunch of course.

While these creatures seem to represent primordial and pagan entities, I think they also stand as a sort of theological critique.
Living Head without a body: a distant God with no incarnated aspect. 
One had a hundred heads: Polytheism.

~witz



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