Typhon's nature

Andrew Mason · 14 Oct 2011, 19:07 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com (Andrew Mason)
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2011 20:07:29 +0100
Subject: (urth) Typhon's nature
Message-ID: <CAM3O41J8jU5Zvrb3Z2mcEgrOXEya1YEHxCB2G9KZ4szFJCdcdA at mail.gmail.com>

Lee Berman wrote:
.
>
> Of the three sections of the Sun series I am least familiar with Long Sun. But given the
> themes I think Wolfe established in 5HoC, I tend to gravitate toward genetics and cloning
> as explanations which tie into the larger picture Wolfe is trying to paint. I get the
> impression Wolfe is trying to make philosophical points with all that he writes, though I'm
> not sure all his fans would agree.

I'm not sure if I'm disagreeing with you here, but it seems to me that
one philosophical point that Wolfe is making turns on the importance
of the mind, and how our identity depends on that. His recent
statement that Typhon really is on the Whorl - not just 'in a way'
bears this out. _Long Sun_ and _Short Sun_ are full of the idea of the
same mind being realised in different substrates, human, alien and
artificial. Pas is Typhon, Marble is Rose, Jahlee is Chenille (or
someone), the Rajan is Horn, all without any genetic connection. So
for this reason I am doubtful about cloning as a clue to the various
identities suggested in the text. (You may agree, since you refer to
'the dead end nature of cloning'. But I don't think Silk is a dead
end.)

Genetics clearly enters into what is happening, with the embryos being
specially bred, and I'm not averse to the thought that there are
hidden family connections of various kinds. But that seems to me to be
secondary. There's something similar in _New Sun_, where there are
certainly hidden family connections; Dorcas is Severian's grandmother,
Merryn is his sister, Casdoe may well be his cousin, and knowing how
Wolfe works, ther are very likely other hidden relations we haven't
spotted. I think these probably do illustrate a theme, of threads
being drawn together to produce someone suitable to be a New Sun: it's
interesting how Severian's ancestry seems to include most of the
various classes of the Commonwealth. But it doesn't seem to me this is
central to the story.

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