Oannes

Gerry Quinn · 16 Mar 2012, 23:05 · from 2012-March.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:05:27 -0000
Subject: (urth) Oannes
In-Reply-To: <CAM3O41JhCRAjfBUSTdpcjM2H7VAViL+3GPmcE4Gx0Qku6hLR5Q at mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAM3O41JhCRAjfBUSTdpcjM2H7VAViL+3GPmcE4Gx0Qku6hLR5Q at mail.gmail.com>
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From: Andrew Mason 
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2012 10:35 PM
To: urth at lists.urth.net 
Subject: (urth) Oannes

> 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?

Works for me.
It is as true of Severian as it is of all gods.
- Gerry Quinn
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