Sex, Lies, and no Videotape

David_Lebling · 17 Dec 1998, 16:04 · from urth-v0022.mbox · original

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From: David_Lebling at avid.com
Subject: (urth) Sex, Lies, and no Videotape
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 16:04:01
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From: m.driussi at genie.com
> One of Greg Feeley's list of "Severian's lies" is in chapter four,
> when Valeria mentions the Tower of Torment "where all who enter die
> in agony."

> Quote Severian: "I told her that, at least, was a fable."

> Then again, Feeley was flexible enough to note that the lie was based
> on the technicallity that the torturers themselves entered (and
> exited) on a daily basis without dying in agony.  FWIW!

I haven't seen Feeley's list, so I'm making my own mistakes here; however,
I agree with him.

In further exculpation, it is stated elsewhere that every now and then (but
not often) someone is released from the Tower, so Sev gets a pass there,
too.  Admittedly, this is sort of a (*cough*) clintonian evasion ("It
depends on what you mean by 'all.'")

> Re: lessons learned in Thecla's cell.  Well, as you say, there is no
> guarantee that Canog's BOTNS had a nifty timeline in it--plus, while
> Severian is said to be an excellent student, it is plain that the
> subject of his study in Thecla's cell was, er, more carnal than
> spiritual.  He wasn't paying attention to =3Dthat=3D when he had =3Dthis=
=3D.
> And yet, perhaps it crept in anyway, just not at the conscious level.

Hmm.  Sev remembers various stories from the brown book, but not _TBotNS_?
I guess that confirms that the version he was reading wasn't the same as
the one we read!

     -- Dave Lebling
     (aka vizcacha)
     (david_lebling at avid.com)



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