Brother Cook and Brother Porter: Robots or Crappy Torturers?

Lee Berman · 04 Jul 2010, 04:33 · from 2010-July.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2010 00:33:45 -0400
Subject: (urth) Brother Cook and Brother Porter: Robots or Crappy Torturers?
Message-ID: <SNT123-W5901AFE75CB1E97E92A1ABCFB00 at phx.gbl>

>Are Brother Porter and Brother Cook journeymen who never became 
>masters? Or could they even be apprentices that never became journeymen?

My guess is that they are a bit higher in status than journeyman but
(of course) below masters. They go by the title of "Brother". Journeymen
seem to call each other by first name.(though Drotte does say to Severian
after his elevation and masking, "can't you recognize all the brothers by
their eyes....").

Monks call each other "Brother" but they must first pass through the stages
of postulant then novice. Very few go on to become Father.

I wouldn't be surprised if Brother Porter and Brother Cook are fully trained
and capable torturers who are ready to perform those duties if needed.
There are some similar characters in the wizard school in Le Guin's 1968 
A Wizard of Earthsea. Wolfe surely read that story before writing BotNS. 		 	   		  
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