Short Story 45: Feather Tigers

David Stockhoff · 09 Sep 2012, 12:29 · from 2012-September.txt.gz

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From: dstockhoff at verizon.net (David Stockhoff)
Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2012 08:29:03 -0400
Subject: (urth) Short Story 45: Feather Tigers
In-Reply-To: <504C8330.1000504 at irit.fr>
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	<504C8330.1000504 at irit.fr>
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I'm inclined to think that the humans did not really go extinct, nor 
that they really were recreated by the feather tigers. That would be 
magic. But it is almost as though they have been awakened---perhaps not 
so much by the appearance of tigers but by the appearance of prey. But 
there is so much going on that it is hard to tell exactly what was intended.

Also, the bunnies' names put together make me think of "et in Arcadia 
ego," for some reason.

On 9/9/2012 7:53 AM, Sergei SOLOVIEV wrote:
> I agree with Mo that the eyes should be human - but I asked myself, 
> whether Quoquo was right claiming that
> the humanity was extinct - may be the most discrete part - "people of 
> yellow leaves" - survived? Quoquo was
> arrogantly wrong on many points. Wolfe could want to be ambiguous 
> here, as he often does.
>
> Another point - I had a very strong feeling that Quoquo and Dondiil 
> remind somewhat Japanese, that
> is, these alien rabbits have the culture that GW wanted to be 
> over-respectful to authority and hierarchical,
> which is bad for science (this concerns also "body language"). I 
> considered the story
> as fiercely humoristic about science based on authority.
>
> "Feather tigers" - the title I believe plays also with a clich? of 
> Maoist propaganda, that spoke about "paper tigers" -
> meaning all western powers, that, according to this propaganda, look 
> more dangerous that they are.
>
> Best regards
>
> Sergei Soloviev
>
> Mo Holkar wrote:
>> At 03:11 09/09/2012, Marc wrote:
>>> (Though it is not entirely clear that the eyes peering at Quoquo are 
>>> from the tigers ? they may be the last vestige of humaanity).
>>
>>
>> I always thought that the eyes peering at Quoquo "bright with an 
>> intelligence not found in any animal" are those of newly returned 
>> humanity, which have been regenerated in resonance to the 
>> reappearance of the 'tigers, in a mirror of their earlier disappearance?
>>
>> best wishes,
>>
>> Mo
>>
>>
>> # ~ # ~ #
>>
>> WolfeWiki -- a wiki about Gene Wolfe
>> http://www.wolfewiki.com/pmwiki/
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