spatial temporal rules of astral travel

Lee Berman · 24 Dec 2010, 17:40 · from 2010-December.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:40:29 -0500
Subject: (urth) spatial temporal rules of astral travel
Message-ID: <SNT123-W526277171B17D55F436757CF1D0 at phx.gbl>

Gerry Quinn: [in regard to Abaia, Erebus and scylla] Who said they died anyway?

Well, I've already posted how the caloyer of Saltus predicted their "withering" at 
the coming of the new sun. Is that close enough? I think there is something in 
UotNS about Severian not sensing their presence, that only Juturna is left as an
Ushas demon. Don't feel like finding the quote right now. Maybe someone else does.

>Perhaps they are biding their time and allowing humans 
>to recover. They don't want to kill humans, they want them as slaves.

So, in other words, all Severian's life efforts and the dragging of a small star across 
the universe and the manipulations of the Hiero-types were all for...nothing? Or just
a nice little genocide? Gerry, your attempts to establish meaninglessness can be a bit
perturbing at times.

>The old Autarch, I think, remarked that the Ascians would do better than the Commonwealth 
>after the coming of the New Sun.

This doesn't sound familiar to me. Is a there text quote to remind me?

>We can hope that the coming of the New Sun will in some way allow humanity 
>to throw off the chains of the sea monsters.  Maybe it does even kill or 
>hurt them in some fashion, or make them give up in disgust and leave for the 
>stars.

So you are seeing the plot in strictly dramatic, perhaps political terms? No religious aspect
to these creatures? As far as leaving for the stars, I think that is rather out of the question.
Maybe in dream travel? I'd hate to be the one trying to load a mountain-sized glob of ocean goo
onto a space ship. The hint that they arrived as black beans seems to suggest that, like many
fallen angels/demons, given their size, they have become eternally earthbound. (a not-coincidental 
condition many see for Father Inire). I suppose they could break into human-sized pieces and leave;
except there don't seem to be anymore spaceships. And, as implied they have probably been "withered".

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