Severian, memory, alzabo

Don Palumbo · 09 Jul 2003, 17:05 · from urth-v0307.mbox · original

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From: Don Palumbo <enpalumb at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Severian, memory, alzabo
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 10:05:04 -0700
Message-ID: <urth-v0307-3605 at digest.urth.net>
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As a few people have said this, it may be worth pointing out that the=20
Autarchs do not use the alzebo drug to pass on their memories.  When the=20
Autarch has Severian kill him and eat his forebrain, he points out=20
specifically that the drug in the vial around his neck is not taken from=20
the alzebo, but is a rarer, better, and more powerful drug.

--Don Palumbo

At 09:13 PM 7/8/03 -0700, Craig Brewer wrote:
>Chris offered:
>
> > As a final note (I have rambled too long), I've also
> > wondered if perhaps Severian had a normal memory,
> > but came to believe that his memory seemed perfect
> > to him because of the recursive-alzabo-effect I was
> > talking about earlier. Even receiving partial
> > memories an infinite number of times would lead to
> > perfect recall, but only of *those* memories.
>
>I've wondered the same thing, especially since what
>bothered me about the alzabo effect has always been
>that I couldn't figure out if Severian only gains, for
>example, the memories that Thecla remembered with her
>"imperfect" (i.e., normal) memory or if he gained
>*all* of her experiences which might have somehow been
>"in" the part of her that he eats. That led me to some
>wilder speculation towards wondering if the tradition
>of the Autarch eating the previous Autarch began with
>the first Ymar who was HIMSELF Severian (with, again,
>a perfect memory). The only way, perhaps, for one
>"incarnation" to share all of the memories of the
>previous one would be to "ingest" those memories
>through the Alzabo.
>
>I'm not sure, tho, that the alzabo itself is
>responsible for his supposedly perfect memory since
>Severian speaks as if he perfeclty remembers the
>events before his first experience with the alzabo in
>Vodalu's forest.
>
>Another piece of Severian-memory (or lack thereof)
>that bothers me is how he gets lost in the tunnels
>before the Atrium of Time. Granted it's dark and
>confusing, but couldn't someone with a perfect memory
>stop and retrace the whole thing?
>
>Craig
>
>__________________________________
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>
>--


--=20

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