Is Agia a Robot?

David Stockhoff · 17 Jun 2010, 16:37 · from 2010-June.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:37:51 -0400
Subject: (urth) Is Agia a Robot?
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTikWgUa7qRvdx2-clVLHPbEEMJcn3Sn1-IKCRoEK at mail.gmail.com>
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Message-ID: <4C1A4F5F.8020800 at verizon.net>

I have no doubt about that. But when an author who persistently and 
deliberately confounds the reader's preconceptions about humans vs 
robots in his characters, his direct clue---plain as day---that 
someone's head is metallic cannot possibly be categorized as "not 
meaning much."

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
> I am reminded of some things Alan Moore said about _Watchmen_ when it
> was first coming out.
>
> The first thing he said was that everything in _Watchmen_ means something.
>
> The second thing, upon seeing the detailed analysis being performed in
> the fan press and especially on the Intartoobs, was "...but not
> everything means _much_."
>
> I suspect that we are often guilty of overanalyzing details in Wolfe's work.
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 9:29 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net> wrote:
>   
>> What's ridiculous?
>>
>> I always read this as a description of metal hitting stone, regardless of
>> the explanation. Otherwise why did Wolfe essentially say, "The sound of her
>> head hitting stone was like the sound of solid metal hitting stone"?
>>
>> Head = metal. Could one have a more obvious clue? Clue to what, exactly, is
>> the only open question.
>>
>> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
>>     
>>> This is getting ridiculous.
>>>
>>> Agila must be human -- she has to be related to Severian -- after all,
>>> he's sexually attracted to her...
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 9:15 AM, Ryan Dunn <ryan at liftingfaces.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Yes. And he made a point to say it made this sound DESPITE her abundant
>>>> head
>>>> of hair.
>>>>
>>>> I just can't help but wonder, ESP when coupled with Agilus's second mask.
>>>>
>>>> Anywho.
>>>>
>>>> ...ryan
>>>>
>>>> On Jun 17, 2010, at 11:42 AM, brunians at brunians.org wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>>> Have you ever heard someone fall down and hit their head?
>>>>>
>>>>> It does not sound like the description.
>>>>>
>>>>> .
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>>>> From: Ryan Dunn <ryan at liftingfaces.com>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>             
>>>>>>> So I was re-reading Shadow, and noticed something I had previously
>>>>>>> written off...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "I slapped her wrist, perhaps harder than I should, and she flew at
>>>>>>> me,
>>>>>>> clawing for my eyes as
>>>>>>> Thecla used sometimes to do when she could no longer bear the thoughts
>>>>>>> of imprisonment and
>>>>>>> pain. I pushed her away - not into a chair this time but against the
>>>>>>> wall. Her head struck the
>>>>>>> stone, and though it must have been padded by her abundant hair, the
>>>>>>> sound was as sharp as
>>>>>>> the tap of a mason's hammer."
>>>>>>> (Shadow of the Torturer, Chap. 29, Agilus)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>          That last line. Her head hitting the stone. The tap of a
>>>>>>> mason's hammer
>>>>>>> would be very tinny and
>>>>>>> unusual of a human skull, don't you think?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>          Am I reading into this line too much, or might this be a clue
>>>>>>> as to the
>>>>>>> nature of these odd twins and
>>>>>>> their masks upon masks?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>               
>>>>>> Interesting question, but it says the sound is as "sharp" as the tap of
>>>>>> a
>>>>>> mason's hammer, not that it sounds the same in all ways.  I took this
>>>>>> to
>>>>>> mean that the sound has a sudden attack and decay, since it's between
>>>>>> two
>>>>>> hard surfaces, despite the apparent padding.  It's horrifying.  But I
>>>>>> don't see it as suggesting a metallic sound.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Jerry Friedman
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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>>>>>>             
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Urth Mailing List
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>>>>>           
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>         
>>>
>>>
>>>       
>> _______________________________________________
>> Urth Mailing List
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>>     
>
>
>
>

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