Oannes

Andrew Mason · 16 Mar 2012, 22:35 · from 2012-March.txt.gz

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From: andrew.mason53 at googlemail.com (Andrew Mason)
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 22:35:01 +0000
Subject: (urth) Oannes
Message-ID: <CAM3O41JhCRAjfBUSTdpcjM2H7VAViL+3GPmcE4Gx0Qku6hLR5Q at mail.gmail.com>

I mentioned a while ago the way in which, in Long Sun/Short Sun,  the
lesser gods can sometimes become manifestations of the true God,
culminating  in the Rajan's statement near the end that 'insofar as
they are gods at all they are him'.  I've realised that there is
something similar in _New Sun_, in the Oannes passage (SOTL 31), 'I
did not believe in Oannes or fear him. But I knew, I thought, whence
he came - I knew that there is an all-pervasive power in the universe
of which every other is the shadow. I knew that my conception of that
power was as laughable (and as serious) as Oannes.' The power is
identified as the Increate at the end of the chapter.

Later, in _Urth_, Severian says that he has become the Oannes of  his
people. Might this be a clue to what Wolfe means by saying that
Severian is a form of the Outsider?

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