Are the Neighbors REALLY the Neighbors?

Lee Berman · 15 Feb 2011, 05:23 · from 2011-February.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 00:23:44 -0500
Subject: (urth) Are the Neighbors REALLY the Neighbors?
Message-ID: <SNT123-W161FCB5FEA198FDE9219B2CFD30 at phx.gbl>

>Jordon Flato: What if what we are seeing as neighbors in the books are
>actually dream traveling inhumi who LOOK like neighbors because that is what
>their souls are like.

I think I see where this is coming from. Still I lean in the direction of James'
theory that dream travel is the province of Neighbors (and thus SilkHorn is part
Neighbor). I think the Neighbors Horn encounters are dream travelling Neighbors, 
purely. They seem to be sort of there and not there, like the sort of beings who 
could pass through walls but also be able to shake your hand (or have sex or bleed).

>And yet, there is a subtle clue in that the possibly only
>fully corporeal 'neighbor' we meet is the barnacle encrusted monstrosity
>that tries to climb aboard the boat with Horn early in Blue (?? is that when
>it happens?)

Well, middle of the book (pg. 163 in my copy). And that certainly seems to be the
best conclusion based on Horn's theory of that thing which he tries to dismiss but,
c'mon, is Wolfe really going to waste 3 paragraphs on a false theory? Why would he?

The idea Horn has about the creature is that one Neighbor is blessed (but really cursed) 
with immortality. He lives his life in immortal debauchery for a few centuries but then 
all his fellow species-members have "dwindled". He throws himself into the sea to be 
succored by the goddess who favored him. This goddess is surely The Mother as Seawrack 
has a power of persuasion over this immensely strong creature.

So where did all his species members "Vanish" to? I agree with those who theorize they
are on a "neighboring" plane of existence. So what we call "death" is something which 
frees the Neighbors to go to another (better?) place,  except for this one immortal guy 
(and the immortal goddess who succors him in barnacle crusted glory).

[I always think of this creature when they show Bill Turner from Pirates of the
Caribbean http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2007/05/23/gal_pirates_2.jpg]

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