traveling north

Jane Delawney · 02 Jun 2010, 23:09 · from 2010-June.txt.gz

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From: jane_delawney at sky.com (Jane Delawney)
Date: Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:09:59 +0100
Subject: (urth) traveling north
In-Reply-To: <4C06DFE0.3040805 at sky.com>
References: <4C06DFE0.3040805 at sky.com>
Message-ID: <4C06E4C7.7020706 at sky.com>

and a quick follow up (told you it was late at night, thinking things 
through ...)

Of course it isn't possible to travel toward the equator in *either* 
hemisphere with the sun at your back. So something very complicated 
appears to have happened to the earth's orbit, the position of the 
continents, or both.

Also awaiting comments from those who will probably tell me that the 
directions given do not in fact exclude the possibility that the sun was 
in Sev's face during the rest of the day. I'm sure there are other 
indications that Urth's north and south are not quite as we know them - 
but no time to go there now.

got to go!

jd

On 02/06/10 23:49, Jane Delawney wrote:
> Just a quick question (I hope) it's really late at night where I am :)
>
> There seems to be a general assumption (unless I've read it wrong, 
> which would not be the first time of course as some of you have 
> already noticed :) - both Borski and Andre-Driussi appear to support 
> the idea) that the setting of BOTNS is South America. At one point 
> (sorry I can't be more specific without looking stuff up in detail, I 
> don't have time right now, I'm sure one of you will know the place) 
> it's stated outright by one of these writers that Nessus is 'almost 
> certainly Buenos Aires'.
>
> This would mean that as Severian & co. journey to Thrax & beyond, they 
> are moving northward in the southern hemisphere.
>
> However, when Severian takes directions from the pampas herdsman for 
> his journey (directions which will lead him straight into the Stone 
> Town of course) the herdsman instructs him to travel northwest ... 
> 'with the sun over your right shoulder in the morning and in your left 
> eye in the evening' or very similar phrasing.
>
> Perfect directions for a journey north-westwards in the *northern* 
> hemisphere.
>
> With the current planetary orbit and polar configuration, surely it is 
> simply not possible to travel northward in the southern hemisphere 
> with the sun *behind* you, which is evidently what Severian is doing.
>
> What is going on here? Many apologies if this is a topic which has 
> been done to death in the past btw. My initial reaction is that the 
> usage of 'north' and 'south' in Severian's world does not entirely 
> coincide with ours, that there has been a magnetic reversal event or 
> similar, and that for sure Severian is travelling northwards in *his* 
> southern hemisphere ... but that this is not the same as our southern 
> hemisphere. Perhaps the Commonwealth is North America or Eurasia after 
> all; and Ascia, South America or Africa.
>
> As I've mentioned on list previously I'm currently  part way through 
> my first read of this book for fifteen years. Would be most interested 
> to hear if there is any further information out there regarding this 
> little puzzle (for instance, I have so far taken less notice than I 
> might have done of any mention of the positions of stars from 
> Severian's point of view - though there is apparently a constellation 
> called the Cross, this could as easily refer to our Swan (Cygnus) as 
> to the Southern Cross. Not to mention that star positions relative to 
> Urth may not be quite the same as they are to our Earth.
>
> got to go, goodnight and thanks for your patience if you have read this.
>
> jd.
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