Grand Unified Theory

Dave Tallman · 29 Aug 2010, 03:54 · from 2010-August.txt.gz

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From: davetallman at msn.com (Dave Tallman)
Date: Sat, 28 Aug 2010 21:54:10 -0600
Subject: (urth) Grand Unified Theory
Message-ID: <AANLkTikLBFMiePBJ39fOeC4mnpwuSTuu1tu7p7cw=jfD at mail.gmail.com>

James Wynn wrote:

I think that after the end of "Return To the Whorl", the Rajan went back

to get Fava in dreamland where he left her when her body died. Then he

takes her back in Time to Viron so everything can happen as he remembers

it from Silk's memory. There, Fava --who, in dream-travel looks like a

teenage girl-- has some breast augmentation (as Chenille implies) and

becomes Hyacinth. As you have already pointed out, favas and hyacinths

are both beans. The Romans believed beans contained the souls of the dead.

I agree that astral projection/dream travel can involve time travel,
and that the "Patera Pike" who appeared to Silk was in fact the Rajan
with his dream Oreb (now normal size with Scylla gone).

I'm less convinced about the time-looped astral form of the dead Fava
becoming Hyacinth. Other than her possible light weight it seems like
the evidence is mostly negative -- references to Hyacinth's parents
and siblings that have to be explained away. There's an even more
specific one from the Ansible Cloud Chamber 77:

26. *Who was Hyacinth's mother?* ? I don't know how to answer that.
She was not a character you have known in some other connection, if
that's what you mean. She was the wife of Hyacinth's father, and the
mother of her sisters and brothers.

A few other objections that come to mind:

1) Fava is repeatedly mentioned as being light-haired or blonde.
Hyacinth's hair is jet black.

2) Dream spirits don't eat, and derive no nourishment from eating. I
think we see Hyacinth eat, though I would have to dig up the
reference.

3) As an already-dead dream spirit, Hyacinth would be effectively
immortal. There would be no death to distress Silk so that he would
need the help of Horn's spirit to stay alive himself.
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