Crush on Trial

Tony Ellis · 02 Apr 2005, 13:35 · from 2005-April.txt.gz

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From: tonyellis69 at btopenworld.com (Tony Ellis)
Date: Sat Apr  2 13:35:05 2005
Subject: (urth) Re: Crush on Trial
Message-ID: <000001c537cb$d0b7ea90$6401a8c0@TONYSPC>

I wrote:
>In the post you're quoting from, the question was whether the mere
>preservation of future generations could be used to justify Severian's
>mass-murder *at all*. To which the answer is still "No".

 =20
Maru wrote:
>Not 'mere preservation'. To preserve something is to keep that which
already
>is. The default for Urth is to dwindle and die.

Yes, mere preservation. The Green Man future 'already is'. It's just as
real =96 or unreal - as the ice future. We meet someone who lives there.
Bringing the New Sun preserves the generations of one future, not
bringing it preserves the generations of another.

>...all that *easily* compensates
>for the death of the multitudes, who frankly were doomed anyway.

No, they weren't. The multitudes would have continued to live their
ordinary lives if Severian hadn't drowned them all.

>Do you follow ethico-political issues at all?  What is the abortion
>debate over if not over the *potential* of a fetus, or the debate over=20
>Schiavo if not over her *potential* to one day wake up and be what we
>consider human again?

The last time I followed ethico-political issues, I don't recall that
planets had to be drowned to realise the potential of a fetus, or the
unfortunate Mrs Schiavo. Since a planet does have to be drowned to
realise the potential of a handful of survivors in the New Sun future, I
think that's more important.=20

--=20
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=20

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