Typhon's nature

larry miller · 09 Oct 2011, 22:49 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: biglar1984 at gmail.com (larry miller)
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 18:49:19 -0400
Subject: (urth) Typhon's nature
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In the Sword of the Lictor Typhon says a few things that seems to
indicate an alien origin. He tells  Severian that "I was not born, at
least not in the way you mean it".   Also Typhon says that though he
has lived a day he has sent his thoughts to far places, seemingly
making contact with the megatherians.  This seems very similiar to the
astral abilities possessed by the Nieghbors.  Was Cillinia born on the
Whorl or Urth?  Perhaps she has a saints name because she was fathered
by Piaton and then later adopted by the alien Monarch?

On 10/9/11, Andrew Mason <andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com> wrote:
> Larry Miller wrote:
>>
>> On first read I imagined Typhon as human native of Urth. ?But Wolfes
>> naming strategum points at Typhon being of alien origin.
>
> I don't think it does, really. It's not humans, as such, but
> Commonwealth citizens who have saint's names; Ash, for instance, or
> Loyal to the Group of Seventeen don't. (Also Baldanders seems to be
> human in origin but to have adopted a monstrous name when he became a
> monster.)  And this principle is carried on into Long Sun/Short Sun;
> people born in the Commonwealth region on Urth (Mamelta, Roger) have
> saints' names, though no one else does. Also, here Typhon's daughter
> has a saint's name - Cilinia - which seems to imply that she is human.
>
> I don't know if Typhon is an Urthling, or an off-earth human from one
> of the planets settled during the first empire; but I don't think he's
> totally alien.
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