AEG: a Wolder on Earth

Roy C. Lackey · 23 Dec 2008, 21:45 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 2008 15:45:24 -0600
Subject: (urth) AEG: a Wolder on Earth
References: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0812231727460.8480 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>
	<4950E4CB.6020801 at gmail.com>
Message-ID: <001701c96547$c6ea5860$77d24a0c@rclackey>

Dave Tallman quoted David Duffy and wrote:
> > Catching up with the list now I have read AEG.  His "bad heart" is
pretty
> > obviously not physical.  I thought it likely that he was a changeling,
viz
> > the description of incipient followers of Mr Squid.
> The idea that it was a spiritual malady is interesting. Reis said "A
> defective heart valve is what they said, although I think it was really
> something else" (p. 277). Whatever it was, it caused physical weakness,
> since Reis talked about Rian's ability to play football after the
> healing. The connection to Squiddie is a bit of a stretch, though. Our
> best guide to Squid-God transformations are the assassin and the zombie
> Pat Gomez. Rian's case doesn't seem anything like those.

I agree with Dave T. on both counts.

> > And I presume his
> > mother (who is wealthy) might well own "a thousand million" and a yacht.
> > She must have been the Ambassadress that lived with BR on Woldercan.
And
> > Shirley Bench knew an awful lot about her and Rian, including the fact
> > that he was too brave.
> >
> According to the timelines that Roy Lackey and I worked out, the mother
> is more likely Bill's first wife and the one who went to Woldercan with
> him is the second. The photo from Klauser said "... all the kindness and
> hospitality he and his family have shown to my wife and me" (p. 301).
> Ten or so years back, Rian would be six or less. If he were with them,
> it would be more natural to say "...he and his family have shown to me
> and my family."

Naturally I agree with Dave T. that Rian's mother was Bill's first wife. But
I think David D. is right about the rich yacht owner being Rian's mother. It
makes perfect sense that Bill's first wife was rich, and she has to be
someone of importance or she wouldn't be listed in the cast of characters.
She was a former beauty, which fits Reis' known predilection for the type.
And wealthy men are often known to dump trophy wives when they start to lose
their shine. She showed broken Cassie her motherly instinct, which is in
consonance with a mother who had cared for a sickly child.

-Roy

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