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Jeff Wilson · 26 Nov 2012, 20:24 · from 2012-November.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at clueland.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:24:26 -0600
Subject: (urth) (no subject)
In-Reply-To: <SNT123-W49E36B5A0E7C6FF7472E4ACF5F0 at phx.gbl>
References: <SNT123-W49E36B5A0E7C6FF7472E4ACF5F0 at phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <50B3CFFA.9020702 at clueland.com>

On 11/26/2012 7:39 AM, Lee Berman wrote:
>
>> Jeff Wilson: And the secret is only that we torturers obey.
>
>> the badger: For some reason I want to believe that there's something else, something esoteric ...
>
> I agree with badger that this is too broad and simplistic. I agree with Jeff that this is, in
> some fashion, "the secret" that Master Gurloes imparted but there is more to it that we are supposed
> to derive.

I think it's more about the contrariness of being the lowest of the low, 
that they purposefully put themselves at the bottom of the heap because 
they have no scruples about what they will do for the Autarch, which 
also makes them the most trusted and valued. This may be what is 
qualitatively different from the other guilds' mystery.

> When talking to Dorcas, Severian provides an elaborate, well-thought out justification for why his job
> as torturer is necessary. Yet when given Autarchial powers, one of Severian's first acts is to abolish
> the guild.

Sev has also had a religious awakening about this time, and realizes 
that the party line that he presents to Dorcas makes perfect sense as a 
justification for a secular autocrat to ordain a guild of torturers, but 
such a thing is abhorrent to the Increate and anyone who truly follows Him.

I don't know that he literally abolishes the guild (he still speaks of 
the masters by title), or perhaps removes the license to perform torture 
from their charter, reducing them to jailers and executioners.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at clueland.com
Computational Intelligence Laboratory - Texas A&M Texarkana
< http://www.tamut.edu/CIL >

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