Time, Not Cloning

Jeff Wilson · 26 Jul 2013, 02:40 · from 2013-July.txt.gz

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From: jwilson at clueland.com (Jeff Wilson)
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 21:40:45 -0500
Subject: (urth) Time, Not Cloning
In-Reply-To: <20130725151359.14401.qmail at server281.com>
References: <20130725151359.14401.qmail at server281.com>
Message-ID: <d0cb1ec6ee3e1597b9b7f7819a3041dc.squirrel at webmail.prismnet.com>

On Thu, July 25, 2013 10:13, Brian wrote:
> The discussion of cloning a while back was of interest to me, because I
> always thought that Severian's replacement bodies were pulled from other
> timelines, where he hadn't died--and in fact considered most of the
> "magic"
> in the books to be combinations of technologies, including quite a bit of
> time manipulation.

Yes, but....

The Yesodis do seem to have machinery that spans time, and they can use
long-forgotten Urth technology across times, like the projection of
aquastors and eidolons, but Severian seems able to perceive across time
and to bend the time-like accumulation of entropy by some natural or at
least inborn gift, rather than by gadget.

You suggestion that the replacement bodies come from other timelines'
Severians is interesting, though it raises the questions of why they
didn't just go with the survivor entirely, and why doesn't a struggle with
the other Severian ensue?

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

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