Severian's Journey: Happenstance or Masterplan?

Lee Berman · 19 Aug 2010, 21:53 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:53:34 -0400
Subject: (urth) Severian's Journey: Happenstance or Masterplan?
Message-ID: <SNT123-W29342171F2FE53E2080AAACF9E0 at phx.gbl>

>Dan'l D-Oakes: Severian and his life are manipulated by the
>Hierofoos, to be sure; but only within the context that he freely
>chooses what they ultimately want. I further suggest that the
>Hierofoos are themselves manipulated by higher beings, if not the
>Increate Himself, and that the whole thing is the design of the
>Increate.

I think this is close to my view and why I kinda like Yesod to be
the next higher universe in a sequence with Briah. Great and prescient
as the Hierogrammates are, they don't know everything. Nor can they do
anything. They have choices.

Hierogrammates are controlling Severian's life, but you know..they could
do a better job of it. They still rely on deceit and lies, armed, violent
conflict and death to manipulate and test their subject (and even themselves).

It would be nice if the Hierogrammate themselves were controlled by a
higher, more spiritual group of beings from that universe which is one 
higher than Yesod..and so on for each higher universe. The fact that Severian 
has the power to resurrect the dead when Tzadkiel does not possess this power 
suggests the presence of such superior beings.

Each higher level of being would have greater levels of omniscience and 
omnipotence and less and less choice, until we arrive at Universe (n+infinity)
wherein resides The Increate who knows everything, controls everything but
cannot make any choices, always being locked into doing what is the peak of 
perfection.

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