Fairies and Wolfe

David Stockhoff · 01 Apr 2012, 12:28 · from 2012-April.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:28:03 -0400
Subject: (urth) Fairies and Wolfe
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W1491877086742BB15FC5A6CF4F0 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W1491877086742BB15FC5A6CF4F0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <4F7849D3.7080109 at verizon.net>

On 3/31/2012 11:40 PM, Lee Berman wrote:
>> Jeff Wilson: Supposedly, Apu-Punchau is a necromancer in reverse; he
>> traffics with the living on behalf of the other dead people.
>
> And isn't Apu PUnchau really Severian (one of him, anyway)? Severian
>
> is raising the dead, travelling through time, causing storms and
>
> earthquakes and all by channelling the energy of a star through his
>
> puny human cellular structures. Severian is a god and he is using magic,
>
> loathe though Gerry is to admit it. There is no way he can do what he does
>
> using what we define as science, i.e. physics, chemistry etc.
>
>
>
> Heck, if you believe a human cell can channel stellar level energies
>
> without harm, what else would you believe? That inhumi can travel
>
> unassisted through the void? ;- ) 		 	   		

I think the only significant distinction in Severian's universes between 
one form of "power" and another (beyond whether it's known or unknown to 
us, known or unknown to Severian, known or unknown to FOB, etc.) is 
whether it is drawn from the Increate or not. I get no sense that it 
comes from the ground, or the air, or water, or from words or crystals 
or creatures of moral purity or talking trees. "Godly" therefore can 
mean either technological or "immaterial" (i.e., from a higher universe).

Which?

The existence of Yesod muddies this a bit, but it seems plain to me that 
the whole "big idea" of Briah is that gods form themselves and rise up 
from matter and technology, not from magic; nor are they molded by a 
Creator (except as they form one another). Unless the Increate is 
involved, it's all matter and recognizable physical laws.

One could make a general case that the physical laws of Briah are a bit 
relaxed compared with our own. Or one could call it SF, or SF with a 
layer of "fantasy" (i.e., paganism). Either way, it only /looks /like magic.

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