Are the Neighbors REALLY the Neighbors?

James Wynn · 15 Feb 2011, 16:13 · from 2011-February.txt.gz

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From: crushtv at gmail.com (James Wynn)
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 10:13:24 -0600
Subject: (urth) Are the Neighbors REALLY the Neighbors?
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-w230B444DEE1DF1454E06AFCFD30 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-w230B444DEE1DF1454E06AFCFD30 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4D5AA624.80301 at gmail.com>

> Lee Berman-
> I'm willing to accept enough of what Horn says to agree with the portion of Marc's theory
> that this is the only example of a fully flesh-and-blood Neighbor that we see.

We have so little to go on regarding Ol' Barnacles. I've always wanted 
to connect him to the Rajan--sort of a Severian-Apu Punchau-style 
encounter or a Pike's Ghost encounter. Unfortunately, if that's true, we 
have as much hope of untwining that mystery as we did the Apu Punchau 
mystery without "The Urth of the New Sun", or Pike's Ghost without "The 
Book of the Short Sun".

On the other hand, I would say that still makes Mr. Barnacles a Neighbor.

> Horn uses examples from The Whorl of people ostensibly blessed but really cursed by
> wealth or other gifts from the gods (James, interesting that you mention Blood) as
> the basis for his theory. To me this hearkens to similar examples from earth's own
> mythology, most obviously Midas (a reference I think would be of great interest to James). Perhaps this is how gifts from the gods on all whorls work (so what does that say about Severian and his divine gift?).

If one presumes that Silk was a clone of Typhon, Barnacles-as-Midas 
works perfectly.

Incidentally, Latro's curse from the gods is also said to be a blessing. 
It causes him to lose his memory but also enables him to see the divine 
and be a mediator between the divine and the mundane--touch the divine 
and it becomes visible in the mundane realm. In other words, "divine 
curse" and "divine blessing" are explained to be just alternate terms 
for "touched by a god".

u+16b9

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