(TBOTN) Utter speculation

matthew.malthouse · 20 Jun 2003, 07:33 · from urth-v0306.mbox · original

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From: matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk
Subject: Re: (urth) (TBOTN) Utter speculation
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 08:33:30 +0100
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On 19/06/2003 18:47:44 Craig Brewer wrote:

>I've been thinking about the Wall of Nessus and
>Baldander's assertion (ch. 35 of Shadow) that the open
>space inside the walls wasn't for Nessus' expansion.
>But something about the sheer size and height of the
>walls made me wonder how far off it would be to
>suggest that Nessus wasn't always a city but that it
>was initially (possibly) one huge space pad. Assuming
>that the walls are circular, then would it be possible
>that what we have is some kind of base for a huge
>cylinder, like...the Whorl?

I can think of two mundane reasons for the space inside the wall.

First to enclose farming land or other resources.  That actually doesn't=20
stand up very well because a technology that could build the wall is=20
unlikely to be menaced by a purely ground based attack to the concept of=20
"wall" is redundant unless there was more too it (speculations about=20
forcefield domes have been made here in the past).

The second, and I think more logical potential reason is that the open=20
space within the wall is a killing ground - a space left bare to provide=20
the forces within the wall an unobstructed field of fire.

Such can be seen around fortifications built in our history but usually=20
outside the walls so why a killing ground _inside_ the walls of Nessus.

Nessus - or rather the Citadel - is a space port; we might infer an=20
important one.  If it's the point of entry for cacogens or humans=20
returning from the empire it's an obvious danger zone and one might well=20
want to keep affective guns trained on it.  Thus Nessus isn't "within" the=20
wall but "outside it, the wall enclosing the rest of the world.

There's nothing I can recall to directly support this but consider that=20
Nessus once much smaller; had the space port / Citadel to it's north while=20
now the Citadel is in the southern inhabited reaches of the city.  My=20
impression was always that the circle formed by the wall was centered on=20
the Citadel - again, no recalled evidence - and that the presence of=20
Nessus, the city, was actually unrelated to the existence of the wall.

If that's credible then one should ask why the prohibition remains long=20
after it ceased to be meaningful.  One reason is the inertia such things=20
have, law become custom and the Commonwealth seems riddled with such.=20
Another is that as Nessus grew from a seaport to a great metropolis, the=20
largest concentration of people and thus trouble in the realm, subsequent=20
Autarchs might have appreciated the wisdom of not having the rabble wash=20
up right to the foot of the fortifications.

Oh, and as for the Whorl I'm fairly sure Marble describes being ferried up=20
to it with an implication that it was constructed in orbit.

Matthew

--=20

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