Pike's ghost

Lee Berman · 01 Dec 2011, 01:12 · from 2011-November.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:12:04 -0500
Subject: (urth) Pike's ghost
Message-ID: <SNT123-W44B3757D0B220D442488D2CFB10 at phx.gbl>

On 11/30/2011 4:51 PM, Larry Miller wrote:
>> gotcha.

> On 11/30/11, Gerry Quinn<gerry at bindweed.com>  wrote:
>> He talks about his predecessors, and uses the magic Autarch words to get in.

>David Stockhoff: Not quite. It's here:

>"Yet it was impossible that I should occupy a suite other than that 
>anciently set aside for the autarchs...."

>Thus the suite is "that anciently set aside for the autarchs.">

Yes. If we read carefully, the text more precisely supports larry:  that Severian 

has the memories of all the old autarchs evidenced by his knowledge of ancient 

autarch words.  That Severian finds nothing familiar in the suites set aide for 

the autarchs suggests that no previous autarch ever used the suite. 

Thus, larry's conclusion that the contents of the suite, including the mandragora,

may date back to Typhon's era, is supported. You could argue that Severian just 

happens to remember the words for the suite but just happens to forget the contents. 

But the only purpose of such a toothless assertion would be a desperate attempt to

win a losing battle.

We have Brian's definition of "mandragora" referring to shamans and sorcerers. larry

do you have any views on Father Inire and what he was doing during Typhon's reign?

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