Pike's ghost

Gerry Quinn · 01 Dec 2011, 14:47 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2011 14:47:39 -0000
Subject: (urth) Pike's ghost
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W6546734A52F17378C2F8BDCFB10 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W6546734A52F17378C2F8BDCFB10 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <7A52DE7C08924FC88D0CC05BB06DD2AC@Rover>



From: Lee Berman 

> Good question on the secret words. I was always under the impression that there was a
> complex collection of words which were unique to each Autarchial gateway to secret 
> places.
>  
> It would be more efficient if there was only one word for all of them. But in UotNS, on
> Flood Day, when Severian is in the secret passage which takes him to the throne room (and
> allows him to encounter his mother and Agia (the assassin), he notes that many Autarchial
> lovers were given the secret words to allow trysts and those lovers gave the words to their
> own paramours, and so on. Thecla's cadre having access to the Antechamber supports the idea 
> that some of the secret words were given out, and thus it would be better to have distinct 
> words for each secret portal.
There is no reason to suppose either that there is one word for all, or that each portal has its own word.  Something in between is most probable.  In any case, one fact we do know is that Severian did indeed know the words for the ancient suite.  [Perhaps it it had been used more often, the password would have been changed occasionally.]

> Yes, I don't think we are really given enough information to know for sure if any autarchs
> had used that suite. 

Except the bit where Severian tells us they used the suite.  Of course he could have been wrong and they just stored a lot of stuff there, and obviously there?s no proof that they didn?t inherit some stuff from Typhon whether they used it or not, just as some of the books in the library undoubtedly date from Typhon?s time.  


> We know it wasn't used much and, as you say, the information we do get 
> supports larry's theory that the Mandragora and the rest date back to Typhon's time.

The information we get is that it was ancient, and the decor is described.  Does anyone know if the decor in Typhon?s time is described in Urth (and Typhon?s quarters in the mountains), and whether it matches the suite?  If not, the information supports only the idea that the suite and its contents are ancient.  On the other hand, if for example chairs were typically used in Typhon?s time, we would know that the suite was furnished long after.

- Gerry Quinn
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