Two Ships

Chris · 14 Aug 2003, 17:27 · from urth-v0308.mbox · original

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From: "Chris" <rasputin_ at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Two Ships
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:27:00 +0000
Message-ID: <urth-v0308-3898 at digest.urth.net>
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>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 is
>that it explains the Whorl's existence in view of the captain's claim that
>there is only *one* ship. Not one "true" ship -- one ship. Of course, 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 explanation)
>  and both seem like cheating to me.

Civet throws in:
Or, perhaps Tzadkiel's Ship is the archetypal ship (or the ideal form of=20
"shipness" if you want to go Platonic). Tzadkiel himself seems to operate i=
n=20
the symbolic/angelic realm. It seems to make more sense than interpreting i=
t=20
in a strictly physical way (and the transition from Yesod to Briah is=20
debatably a metaphysical one in the first place).

It also, now that I think about it, has a certain logic of its own.=20
Tzadkiel's Ship seems to visit Urth during even the most primitive periods=20
of technology or sophistication of the natives. Why? Well, strictly speakin=
g=20
of it as a freighter, there's no good reason I can think of. Instead, we ca=
n=20
say that Tzadkiel's Ship visits all these eras because *it has to, by=20
nature* - because all ships are the Ship.

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--=20

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