mankind

Alex David Groce · 23 Nov 1999, 11:18 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: Alex David Groce <Alex_Groce at gs246.sp.cs.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: (urth) mankind
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 1999 11:18:58
Message-ID: <urth-v0028-0513 at digest.urth.net>
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But Ori, as I pointed out, I read BOTNS when I didn't know anything about
Wolfe (other than, from having stumbled across "The Fifth Head of Cerberus"
novella in an anthology, that he could write like nobody's business) and I =
came
to an interpretation that's pretty much what Wolfe & us conspirators claim =
is
the "official version."  Am I just naive?  Or did I come to BOTNS with a
different metaphysics, and so reach what is the natural, textual interpreta=
tion
for anyone of that metaphysics (and, apparently, some other people--I know
several atheists who agree with my general view of what BOTNS is about, they
just think Wolfe's created world is a lot less like ours than I think it is=
).
It's your claim that anyone reading BOTNS in an "unbiased" fashion will com=
e to
see things your way that I disagree with so strongly.

Mind you, it IS pretty ambiguous--if I'm not mistaken, Nutria, who isn't co=
ming
from all -that- far away from my POV on things, at first thought the whole
thing was about a Gnostic & self-devouring world and that Severian was mean=
t as
a grim parody of Christ.  Correct me if I'm wrong.  But this doesn't mean t=
hat
"all right thinking folks who don't close their eyes and shut their ears wi=
ll
see the evil conspiracy lurking behind the hieros."

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32
--
Alex David Groce (agroce+ at cs.cmu.edu)
Ph.D. Student, Carnegie Mellon University - Computer Science Department
8112 Wean Hall (412)-268-3066
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~agroce

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