The argument for Intractability

Jeff Wilson · 25 Dec 2008, 05:08 · from 2008-December.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:08:50 -0600
Subject: (urth) The argument for Intractability
In-Reply-To: <W4292126728311431230143308@webmail37>
References: <W4292126728311431230143308@webmail37>
Message-ID: <49531562.8070905 at io.com>

> I'm with you bsharp.
> I don't really follow your reasoning Jeff.
> How do you account for his consciousness residing in a star?
> or the power of a freaking star raising the dead, healing tumors, etc, etc.
> There is no rational explanation for that, based on science and logic, that I can imagine explaining that.  anyone?
> It seems a completely obvious metaphor. Severian's body is a puppet, and his consciousness is a "heavenly body"

The link between his body and the power of the White Fountain is blocked 
  on at least one occasion but his point of awareness remains in his 
body, puzzled about why the miracle is not working this time. He might 
*feel* his consciousness is inside a star, but in that case who is 
making his body walk and talk until the link is restored? Is this some 
kind of cut-rate mechanistic divinity where the avatar needs to find a 
place with more bars before the high-bandwidth miracles are available?

> I don't understand this line "Sev's first-person narrative remains largely linear and divided from that of "other Severians" from which he is separated in space and time"
> I suppose you mean Apu Punchau.  

No, I mean Severian muses about "other Severians" that he has deduced 
preceeded him in narrative time, but overlapped in calendar time. If he 
were divine, why would he not know these parts of himself with more 
certainty?

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

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