Fifth Head

Tony Ellis · 17 Feb 1999, 10:28 · from urth-v0023.mbox · original

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From: "Tony Ellis" <tony.ellis at futurenet.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Re: (urth) Re: Fifth Head
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1999 10:28:23 +0000
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William H. Ansley wrote:

> I mostly agree. That is why I used the word "supposed" above, but it would
> have been more accurate if I had said:
> "Since the narrator supposes himself to be older that David..."
> However, just because the narrator makes an unwarranted assumption doesn't
> mean it's wrong.

Of course, but on the other hand Wolfe does like to have his is characters =
make the
wrong assumption for the right reason (like Number Five mistaking the sepia=
 tint of
an old photograph for a novelty artistic process, or Vodalus' disbelief tha=
t our word
for the present could be the same as our word for gift). This biases me a l=
ittle
toward the David-is-older camp.

> In any case, I think it is going too far to say that "we don't have *any*
> reason to believe that the narrator -is- older than David." [*Emphasis*
> added.] It is fairly clear that producing Number Five was a difficult
> process for Maitre whereas producing David would have been relatively
> simple. Surely, if any part of David's reason for being was to be a contr=
ol
> for Number Five, Maitre would want them to be as close to the same age as
> possible. And surely the easiest way to accomplish this would be for Mait=
re
> to wait until he had a clone he was satisfied with and then cause David to
> be conceived, making Number Five of necessity older than David.

I like your reasoning. But is David a "control"? As  I recall, all Maitre s=
ays is "I
hoped to learn something from an outcrossing." It seems to me just as argua=
ble that
whatever Maitre hoped to learn required him to have David on hand first.

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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