healers and torturers

Dan Parmenter · 07 Oct 1998, 08:40 · from urth-v0019.mbox · original

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From: Dan Parmenter <dan at lec.com>
Subject: (urth) healers and torturers
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1998 08:40:59
Message-ID: <urth-v0019-0060 at digest.urth.net>
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From: Jon Camfield <GriffJon at Mail.UTexas.edu>

>Two things-- Magic in Urth is very very limited, and for all intents and
>purposes does not exist (according to Wolfe) the Declan duel Wolfe
>describes as more psionic and hypnoyic than anything else. =20

I believe it was Decuman that engaged in the "duel of magic".  Declan
was one of the people healed by Sev in URTH, I think.

>In somewhat of a ironic idea (Wolfe employ irony? never!) Sev's sister
>could be an unmentioned person in the Healer's Tower.  Master Gurloes
>mentions this tower in one of his rambling lectures to Sev (in which he
>tends to drop hints he probably shouldn't), but it is never made issue
>again.  The sister would be a 'light' sister to contrast with Sev's 'dark'
>upbringing, and would be a healer, in line with the Pelerine thread, and
>would still be within the complex of the Citadel.

Yes, and we are told that torturers never go there.

Of course Severian is a healer too.  He is praised as a "leech", and
patches up Triskele (after first raising him from the dead :-)

By Gurloes "dropping hints", do you mean hints about Severian's true
nature?  Or hints about his own ghastly life?  I'm thinking of the
"metal phallus" scene here.

D


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