note Re: Short Sun blog

Jeff Wilson · 28 Sep 2010, 14:14 · from 2010-September.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at io.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:14:37 -0500
Subject: (urth) note Re: Short Sun blog
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W6646DDD9C7D6AE7E6744BCF660 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W6646DDD9C7D6AE7E6744BCF660 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4CA1F84D.5080109 at io.com>

On 9/28/2010 7:29 AM, Lee Berman wrote:
>
>
>> Jeff Wilson-  Typhon's resurrection by Severian is not reasonably believable as a
>> biological process, and I certainly did not casually accept it as one.
>
> I find this to be a puzzling sentiment. Surely it doesn't imply that Typhon is not a
> living being. It could imply the process is outside our current scientific capabilities
> but we already knew that.
>
> Does it mean there is some magic or divine power present in BotNS which somehow bypasses
> the role of cells, proteins, DNA and goes directly to some mystical life essence? I don't
> find this to be in the spirit of BotNS or SF in general.

Hello?! The Conciliator?!? Wields the Increate-given power to 
selectively turn back the clock? Jader's sister's illness doesn't 
subside and heal, it's just suddenly gone and she looks as healthy as if 
she had never been ill. Other healing and resurrections are less 
complete, but in their limited extent they remain nigh-instantaneous.

> (even Tzadkiel's finger transformation gets compared to sponge cellular action) 		 	   		

His transformations may be basically biological, but they defy anything 
like the rate of biological processes. But since he/she is a genetically 
altered alien being that strides across the universes and dwells where 
entropy is reversed even without divine intervention, it's not hard to 
see there might be more to it than the days it takes for a caterpillar 
to digest itself and grow new parts. Tzad doesn't even have a sandwich.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
Computational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana
< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >

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