Patera Inire

brunians at brunians.org · 18 Jul 2010, 05:15 · from 2010-July.txt.gz
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From: brunians at brunians.org (brunians at brunians.org)
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 01:15:20 -0400
Subject: (urth) Patera Inire
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W10AD946D2DD363CCA6F587CFBE0 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W10AD946D2DD363CCA6F587CFBE0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <84853f5404f88d084c1e1440b48cf01f.squirrel at brunians.org>

Byzantine society was Christian.

.


>
>>Roy C. Lackey- We are given every reason to believe that Inire's mission
>>on Urth was to cause to be delivered a new sun.
>
> I do agree with this conclusion. Most important in my disagreement is the
> sense I have that this story was written (and meant to be read) through a
> Christian lens.  Severian may be interpreted as a Christ- or Christian
> figure
> but I can't see Father Inire in that light. In UotNS we are told that
> Inire has
> been Severian's friend and warmly bid him farewell on his journey to the
> stars.
> So perhaps he was not antagonistic toward Severian's quest for a New Sun,
> no more
> than Apollo and Mercury were antagonistic toward Jesus. They may have set
> the
> stage for the coming of Jesus but they didn't purposefully work toward
> it.
>
> More specific counter-evidence from the text:
>
> 1. Inire has built a Byzantine (pagan) society in which religion has
> little
> importance and is based on elaborate ritual rather than faith. If he was
> highly involved in bringing the New Sun I think we'd see some association
> of
> him with the Pelerinnes but we don't.
>
> 2. We do not see Inire openly present in Urth's past, at the end of
> Typhon's
> rule, when he should have been there getting the New Sun cult started.
> Borski
> thinks Ceryx is Father Inire disguised but he hardly seems to be working
> toward bringing the New Sun. Quite the opposite.  He competes with
> Severian,
> creates zombies and tries to kill The Conciliator. Not very Christian/New
> Sunish.
>
>
> 3. Inire's 1000 year rule behind the throne produced only two attempts to
> bring
> the New Sun before Severian, both failures. Moreover, both Inire's letter
> and the
> words of the Old Autarch make it fairly clear they are maintaining the war
> with
> the Ascians in equilibrium, propping up the enemies of the New Sun such as
> the
> Vodelarii (and perhaps the Jungle Sorcerers), ensuring they remain to keep
> balance/stasis between the contending forces.
>
> 4. We do not see any hint of Father Inire when Severian returns to the
> Flood Day
> the last day of Urth (first day of Ushas). Valeria has been ruling without
> his
> assistance. If Inire's sole purpose was bringing the New SUn, doesn't good
> story
> telling demand some mention of him at the fruition of his life's work?
> What does
> his absence on this important day suggest?
>
> 4. It seems implied that the Old Autarch used a version of Father Inire's
> mirrors
> to travel to Tzadkiel. Inire shares mirror-using with Hethor (along with
> some
> other traits). Using mirrors does not seem to be a good way of impressing
> Tzadkiel
> or bringing the New Sun. Severian notes that Inire's mirror chamber is
> marked with
> a "terratoid" (monsterous) symbol.
>
> 5. Cyriaca gives us this cryptic quote about the mirrors, "...cacogens had
> landed
> somewhere in the north [Baldander's Castle, we learn]... I suppose they
> must have
> wished to avoid the mirrors at the House Absolute so they could escape the
> eyes of
> the Autarch. I think this suggests B, F and O don't like the mirrors, and
> Inire,
> either. We certainly never see them working with Inire. The closest they
> get is
> watching Eschatology and Genesis and that is probably to see Severian
> perform. If
> Inire is the cowled servitor then both he and the hierodules are well
> wrapped and
> disguised in their closest encounter.
>
> 6. During the story of his travels, Severian's foreshadowing makes it
> clear he does
> not use Inire's or the Old Autarch's mirrors to complete his New Sun
> quest. He
> travels to the stars on a ship, as UotNS later confirms.
>
>
> 7. Severian has been chosen to bring the New Sun because he has his
> so-called perfect
> memory and/or because he was raised as a torturer and has the capacity for
> such a
> genocidal act. Either way, I don't see evidence that Father Inire is
> working to create
> or develop or recognize or recruit these talents in Severian before his
> ascension. (after
> his ascension there is an interesting exception, listed below). His
> interest in Severian
> seems only to serve, once again, as vizier, as the power behind the
> throne.
>
> 8. Inire's letter to Severian is all about war and political intrigues but
> there
> actually is one hint of recognition there about Severian's divine role.
> The letter
> addresses Severian, among other things as, "Helios, Hyperion, Surya and
> Savitar". These
> deity names are Greek and Vedic parallels for the male gods of the sun and
> of light.
> This is surely a recognition of Severian's New Sun role. But this
> recognition does not
> imply to me that Inire is working toward the New Sun goal, especially
> light of #1-7.
> Moreover these are pagan gods and I think Inire (as a pagan god allusion
> himself)
> just doesn't get the Judeo-Christian  role Severian will play.
>
> FWIW- Inire's letter also calls Severian "Messenger of Dawn". In context,
> this must refer
> to the female god of the Dawn, the Greek Eos/Roman Aurora, daughter of
> Hyperion, sister to
> Helios. Is this Inire's acknowledgement of Severian's Thecla side? Perhaps
> even more
> interesting is that the Vedic cognate to Eos is the Sanskrit for dawn:
> ????????????; u???as or
> Ushas.
>
>
> I think the answer to the question of where Father Inire goes just before
> and after the New Sun
> arrives is the same as the answer for how a flood can destroy large
> creatures that live
> in the ocean. I think the answer is not easily found in the text as in
> Judeo-Christian allegory.
> Abaia and Erebus went to the same place that the Nephilim and lamia and
> other demons went
> after Noah's Flood. And Father Inire went to the same place Helios and
> Zeus and Aurora went
> after Christianity replaced their religion.
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