Fifth Head

Roy C. Lackey · 16 Feb 1999, 01:31 · from urth-v0023.mbox · original

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From: "Roy C. Lackey" <rclackey at stic.net>
Subject: (urth) Re: Fifth Head
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 01:31:07
Message-ID: <urth-v0023-0067 at digest.urth.net>
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mantis:

    Point taken; but it was only a scratch. <g>

>From: "William H. Ansley" <wansley at warwick.net>Subject: Re: (urth) FIFTH
HEAD
>Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 23:17:31
>
>Since the narrator is supposed to be older that David, this could explain
>the order of the roll call. It could also be in order of social rank: the
>narrator is the clone of Maitre and his heir, while David is a mere natural
>son, really little more than an experimental control.

    True, but at the time of the incident the narrator is only seven. It
isn't until several years later, at about the age of puberty, that he learns
he is the older brother. Also, he doesn't know he's a clone at that point.
=46rom the narrators point of view there would be no rationale for anything
other than a traditional, alphabetical roll call. Admittedly, it is a small
point. Perhaps it means nothing. A Wolfe by any other name is still a Wolfe.

>The scene may be silly, although that is not quite the word I would use to
>describe it, but I don't see how you can call it anachronistic; surely we
>don't know enough of the history and educational methods of Sainte Croix.

    I only said silly because, unlike the case of your family, there are
just the two of them; and anachronistic because this is, minimally, several
centuries in our future. The likelihood of such a quaint custom surviving
that span of time seems, to me, improbable. But then, why what we see of St.
Croix should be on a par with 19th century Europe (gas lights, carriages,
etc.), rather than the hi-tech society it would take to get there, is no
less improbable. But I won't belabor the point.
    BTW, did anyone else think that "The Last Thrilling Wonder Story",
besides being a parody of pulp-genre SF, was a dig at Heinlein particularly?
That's what I thought when I first read it. My imagination, or is there a
story there?

Roy



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