Undine's nature

Lee Berman · 19 Oct 2011, 15:20 · from 2011-October.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 11:20:24 -0400
Subject: (urth) Undine's nature
Message-ID: <SNT123-W274FF41515857FB8E2375FCFEA0 at phx.gbl>

>David Stockhoff: Is the term "angels" used here in its sense of "agents of good"? I'm not 
>sure I see the slightest hint of morality or ethics anywhere in Briah, 
>on any "side." Then again, I don't see angels themselves as particularly "good."

Hm. Yes. I agree Hiero-types, like their earth angel analogs, do a lot of cruel, even horrific 
things.

We understand that Judeo-Christianity has demonized and uglified the deities of competing 
religions for doing the same sorts of things their own God and angels have done or sometimes
for doing things which are not harmful but just culturally offensive to Judeo-Christians.

I think Wolfe has done this in the BotNS.  One side possesses superhuman beauty while the other
side is (imho) old and shrivelled or gigantic and monstrous. Since both sides do horrible things
I think we are meant to understand that we/Severian are supposed to choose a side based not on
our own personal moral judgements but rather on an intuitive feeling of "rightness". In other 
words we (and Severian) must suspend our horror at the bad things we see happening around us and 
rely on faith that the "right" side will ultimately produce the best result.

>Again, I don't see any worthwhile distinction between fallen and 
>unfallen technology. Both processes are unspeakable perversions but it 
>is their users (and uses) that distinguish them.

I agree. Where we may disagree is that I tend to think that the Autarch's potion is, like alzabo, 
a product of the Cumaean and provided by Father Inire. And these characters are not (anymore) on the 
side of the hiero-types. 

But I could be wrong. Perhaps the hiero-types do provide the autarch his potion and Severian's serial 
memories are important in his ascension to the New Sun. Maybe there is some discontinuity. Perhaps 
Wolfewas thinking the Autarchy and the memories were important in writing the first four books. But 
in UotNS, the memories and the Autarchy seem useless at best and even a bit of a hindrence to his
New Sun function. (for example, the mutineers use a mock Autarch image in an attempt to divert 
Severian from his New Sun function. The scene is cryptic but that's how I read it).

>It occurs to me that creatures who enter the ecosystems of alien 
>planets, especially as "beans," would do well to make use of the DNA of 
>native plants and animals to survive and to compete with them. This 
>would explain the apparent mixed human-nonhuman geno/phenotype as well 
>as fitting the chaotic, cancer-like growth of the monsters.
>And it would provide a corporeal counterpart to the mental/spiritual 
>imitative cannibalism of inhumi and alzabos 

I think this is Marc Aramini's position regarding the origin of Neighbors and Inhumi. I'm not sure if
he finds the process applies when aliens return to Urth. I tend to agree with the idea in general.

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