Typhon's nature

David Stockhoff · 11 Oct 2011, 14:49 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:49:05 -0400
Subject: (urth) Typhon's nature
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On 10/11/2011 7:40 AM, Gerry Quinn wrote:
> *From:* Jerry Friedman <mailto:jerry_friedman at yahoo.com>
>
>
> > No matter how or whether Typhon sent his thoughts to far places, we know
> > he's telepathic. He makes Severian see through his eyes, and he casts a
> > spell to try to get Severian to swear loyalty to him. Severian compares
> > this spell to Decuman's, greatly in Typhon's favor.
> I don?t read too much into this. Typhon is a powerful and charismatic 
> individual; I wouldn?t be surprised if in the _BotNS_ universe such 
> individuals typically have some sort of telepathic power. Like Jeff, I 
> don?t think it?s important whether he uses telepathy or some kind of 
> techno-magic.
I'm quite baffled by this. Genetic engineering is techno-magic. Its 
existence raises questions about cloning and how it works. Mind transfer 
is techno-magic, whether mechanical or organic. There is no evidence 
that Typhon had digital-mental techno-magic or that Abaia uses it too.

This is an SF novel. How can it not matter which kind of techno-magic is 
involved? Why go with the one that has the least evidence for it?
>
>
> > Do we know Mucor's talent is genetic? Maybe it's the result of an 
> implant or
> > brain surgery or magic performed on her embryo. Or are you using 
> "genetic"
> > as a shorthand for some broader idea?
> Of course Dr. Crane cannot know the details, but I think we should 
> heed his observation that Mucor?s parents (her genetic parents, that 
> is) met in a petri dish. [I imagine the same applies to Silk.] 
> Presumably the embryos were then genetically or otherwise engineered. 
> We know Mucor?s brain developed in an abnormal fashion, and after 
> brain surgery her powers were suppressed for a time but eventually 
> came back. So I imagine the telepathic powers must inhere in brain 
> tissue, and probably exist to some extent in everyone.

In some sense, yes. We certainly can't disprove that, and the "origin" 
of telepathy is plainly backgrounded---we don;t need gods or such to 
explain it. It's just there, and we only need an explanation of how 
different characters got super-versions of it. Your explanation is the 
simplest one (see above).
>
> > It seems to me Typhon's psionic talents are quite possible for 
> humans in Briah, considering Mucor and
> > Decuman. We have no idea what enhancement and special training 
> Typhon might have.
> I never saw him as primarily a telepath, but indeed perhaps telepathy 
> was a greater part of his powers than I had thought. But I think his 
> chief powers were charisma, leadership, and military strategy. [That?s 
> why I think a lot of Pas is coming out in SilkHorn as he wanders Blue 
> on his way back to his (Silk?s) island.]
> - Gerry Quinn
>
This is certainly a debatable point. But I return to the narrator's 
purpose: why drop such strong and "classical" hints that Typhon can send 
his mind forth to commune with aliens under the sea, and that he can 
seize other's minds, in a universe where 
telepathic/projection/possession powers are demonstrated to exist, 
without accounting for the fact that the alert reader will proceed to 
interpret this as "super-telepathic powers"? This needs explanation, but 
there is none.

Possibly Typhon is meant to be an emblem of "loyalty to the 
monarch"---in other words, a reference to the degrees of loyalty one 
step below "loyalty to the throne." But this does not contradict 
Typhon's powers, it just gives deeper significance to his claims that 
his face is what will get him back his empire.


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