Agia's Weapons

Lee Berman · 21 Dec 2011, 19:21 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:21:03 -0500
Subject: (urth) Agia's Weapons
Message-ID: <SNT123-W6876B9941BAE7428AD784CFA50 at phx.gbl>

>>Remember how Dorcas considers herself to be an unclean spirit?

>Yes, but she doesn't try to enslave Urth.

Is enslaving Urth a definition of evil? Isn't flooding the place and
killing everybody a much worse evil? By human morality maybe. 

But Gene Wolfe has read the Bible and has had to figure out why Noah's
Flood, which provided such a painful, unpleasant death to so many 
people (and innocent animals) was necessary. The Christian definition
of evil is separation from God, yes? God had to wipe out earth (and
Gene Wolfe had to wipe out Urth) because it was irretrievably separated
from God.

>>>if evil had a point source it would be a disease, not a moral choice.

>> I think, to Wolfe, it is both.  By analogy, is alcoholism a disease or a choice?

>It can't be both---they are utterly and diametrically opposed  conceptions of evil--
>-but they can work in combination.

I disagree. The view of "evil is a choice" is a humanistic view. We need to think 
that to inspire us to make good choices. But God (in the true Christian sense)
cannot have any choices. Anything He does is the ultimate in good. No selection
A or selection B for Him.

I think Gene Wolfe recognizes this (as do a few other inspired SF writers) and
attempts the impossible task of helping us see the universe from God's point of
view. Our "good" and "evil" choices are all made within a rigid, God-created 
framework. And sometimes, despite a lifetime of "good" choices a person will
suffer pain and death through the evil actions of others. Happens every day.

Why does God let that happen? Surely the only answer (as for the creation of
Ushas) is that He often sacrifices innocents in the cause of some greater
good which only He can understand. (as you might know, I, myself, am not religious).

>Your theory seems to move fluidly between "evil" and "corruption" in a way that I find 
>creepy but by the same token impossible to refute. Fiction is always about the worst 
>possible things one can imagine.

"EVIL IS ALWAYS A DISTORTION OR AN EXAGGERATION OF SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD."

Gene Wolfe, Dec 9, 1996: James Jordan interview.

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