The Two Coins

Lee Berman · 13 Aug 2010, 19:54 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:54:58 -0400
Subject: (urth) The Two Coins
Message-ID: <SNT123-W84D7DE65A0CD26FB11F2ECF980 at phx.gbl>

>Ryan- If so, could Severian have been watching himself in the play that night?

>Roy- Possible, but why should he? Idle curiosity? Idol curiosity? Why would he
>have dropped a coin? He couldn't have been surprised at anything that
>happened. And if he had dropped it on purpose, why leave a counterfeit coin?

Yeah, no way. Severian is surely the real deal. Isn't he?

Anyway, I have a memory from somewhere in UotNS of a coin with Severian's scarred
face on it. Maybe the assassin with the poisoned blade had it? (That's Agia in disguse of course ;-))
Is that a false memory? Well, no text here. Sorry. Have to check later.

Here is my question. Severian sees an androgyne's face on the coin. A few chapters later
he meets an androgyne running the House Azure. Did Wolfe expect a first time reader
to catch the connection? It becomes pretty easy on second read.

(perhaps I should amend my earlier, tongue-in-cheek suggestion and propose that Wolfe
has disdain for his first-time readers. After that we are okay in his book)

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