Mucor and devils

Gerry Quinn · 25 Nov 2010, 22:22 · from 2010-November.txt.gz

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From: gerryq at indigo.ie (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2010 22:22:14 -0000
Subject: (urth) Mucor and devils
References: <AANLkTin1MihvQot0XEo8k+h-VdkGRD-mv=hhJ-LsU54E at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <B0B9A265F2764350AF646BC2FB449777@jill>


From: "Andrew Mason" <andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com>

> First, a very happy feast of St Catherine to you all!

And to you too!

> OK, here are the first of the puzzles I have come up with in my
> reading of _Long Sun_. First, what exactly are Mucor's powers? She
> says she can 'send forth her spirit', which makes it sound as if her
> body stays put while her spirit goes around possessing people (or, on
> a couple of occasions, just appearing). But when Silk enters her room,
> he cannot find her, until she materialises later, which suggests her
> body travels as well.

Good question... her powers do not appear to be completely consistent.  At 
other times she definitely left her body behind when possessing people, e.g. 
getting information about the Fliers.  Her apparent invisibility in her room 
seems anomalous.  When she sends out her spirit, she seems to be either 
flying around freely, or possessing people or animals, or occasionally 
popping up inside a mirror - it is hard to see what she would do with a body 
on such occasions.

> Next, what are devils? The 'devils' about which Pike warned Silk are
> clearly inhumi. But as I understand it, inhumi were not present on the
> Whorl from the start, so what are the devils mentioned in the
> Chrasmologic writings? Of course, they may not really be anything -
> just figures of myth which the compilers of the Writings thought it
> would be nice to include. (Does anyone know if the passage Silk reads
> during the exorcism has a definite source?) On the other hand, there's
> a reference at one point to devils getting into Mainframe, which
> suggests something more specific.

I interpret them as fallen spirits of some sort.  I don't think they 
necessarily refer to any specific kind of being.

- Gerry Quinn

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