Short Sun notes: Remora‏

Lee Berman · 09 Oct 2013, 12:52 · from 2013-October.txt.gz

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From: severiansola at hotmail.com (Lee Berman)
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2013 08:52:11 -0400
Subject: (urth) =?windows-1256?q?Short_Sun_notes=3A_Remora=FE?=
Message-ID: <BLU175-W31BD623230C39283862FCACF1D0 at phx.gbl>

>Entonio: (unless I'm mistaken about the order!)

Well, Marc, of course, is the real authority. But in response to a discussion 
on whether Blue was Urth, I thought Marc said it was a handwritten note which read:

"No, no no! GREEN is Urth"

>David Stockhoff: The biggest question (I know we've been over this but I don't recall 
>a satisfactory answer) is, "What is Blue?"

Given the context of the response, and an author who is likely crafty even in his 
personal correspondence regarding his work, I'm satified with my answer. Which is:

That Green is spiritually similar to Urth, being a planet being dominated and under the 
thrall of (biological) corruption. While Urth is darkened by a dying sun, Green is darkened
by relentless choking jungles. But the similarity is there.

As Severian cleansing the Vincula symbolically presages the Flood and cleansing of Urth, so 
Horn's cleansing of the Sewer presages the upcoming flood and cleansing of Green. 

(did Heracles cleansing of the Augean Stables presage the Flood on Earth in 2304 BC?)

Well, anyway, for me the answer to "What is Blue?" is: Ushas.

Not literally, but they are a spiritual match. Ushas, like Blue, is a world of oceans and a 
golden sun and lost civilizations found beneath their waters. They both have demons (Juturna,
The Mother, Inhumi) but, unlike Urth, Green (and antediluvian Earth) the demons are manageable 
and can be overcome by the human species. Isn't this our own current condition?

(My understanding of Gene Wolfe's understanding of Genesis 6:4 is that the earth was 
once populated by giant nephilim, offspring of fallen angels. They were too much for
regular humans to overcome, hence the Flood which mostly eliminated them. We still have our 
demons but they are now managable, with some effort.)

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