Two Ships

matthew.malthouse · 14 Aug 2003, 13:18 · from urth-v0308.mbox · original

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From: matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk
Subject: Re: (urth) Two Ships
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 14:18:20 +0100
Message-ID: <urth-v0308-3894 at digest.urth.net>
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On 14/08/2003 13:53:53 "James Wynn" wrote:

>Crush suggested:
>> > The only way I can think to salvage this theory is to say that
>> > Severian's ship was *first* the Whorl, retrofitted over time to
>> > eventually become Severian's ship. In that case, the time-line
>> > problems disappear and all the problems in technology can be
>> > explained by the passage of time. This is a less elegant solution
>> > than you were looking for since it doesn't explain "the cargo".
>> > But IMO it resolves some nasty snarls.
>> >
>>
>> Don doesn't think this is likely.  However, Silk did leave for the
>> Whorl at the end of RttW and it went on it's merry way to who knows
>> where.  Maybe it went to Yesod.  If Silk is Typhon redeemed then this
>> makes an interesting circle.  Hmmm.
>>
>Crush responds:
>Well, of course its unlikely. Its a cumbersome theory whose main benefit=20
is
>that it explains the Whorl's existence in view of the captain's claim=20
that
>there is only *one* ship. Not one "true" ship -- one ship. Of course,=20
there
>are more cumbersome theories that I hold true, and two other options --=20
that
>the captain was wrong or that Wolfe messed up (the most likely=20
explanation)
> and both seem like cheating to me.
>
>There is one other option I can think of: The Whorl returned to Urth or
>wherever before Severian's assent to the throne. But that is also=20
unlikely
>if one believes Severian is contemporaneous with Silk. Anyway, how would=20
all
>the inhabitants land? What would become of the Whorl? It would still=20
"exist"
>in orbit.

There's another way of looking at it.  A qualitative difference between=20
"ships" and "Ship".

The ships of men which are prosaic things, with which the empire of man=20
(from which Typhon retreated) was made and possibly one type of which form=20
the towers of the Citadel.  The Ship of Tzadkiel, the ship that can=20
navigate the rivers of time, that can cross between Briah and Yesod, that=20
can appear to be many because it's voyages cross and recross it's own path=20
in both space and time almost infinitely.

Matthew

[If the spill chucker had had it's way that could have been "The Ship of=20
Twaddle ... cross between Brian and Yeast"]

--=20

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