Horn as Silk?

Roberson, John · 16 Nov 1999, 13:11 · from whorl-v0010.mbox · original

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From: "Roberson, John" <RobersonJ at bek.com>
Subject: (whorl) Horn as Silk?
Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:11:40
Message-ID: <whorl-v0010-0181 at digest.urth.net>
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Greetings, everyone.  SPOILER WARNING below for those who haven't read _On
Blue's Waters_, though most appear to have done so.  I'm new to the list,
but have enjoyed all the insightful comments that have gone before---all of
you certainly take your Wolfe very seriously and delight in pouring over his
beautifully-crafted stories and mining out all the gems.  I've got two
comments I'd like to hear/read your ruminations about:

1. As mentioned before in this column, there are numerous cases of identity
confusion with Silk, on Horn's part, after he returns from the Long Sun
Whorl.  There's also mention of what we'd suspected for a long time:  the
possibility of Silk being scanned into Mainframe and probably merged with
the Pas program (as well as mention of a surgeon who has perhaps grafted a
Pas-Silk in the physical world?).  Could Horn's identity problems result
from the Pas-Silk amalgram program having transferred some of Silk's
identity into Horn via "possession", in a similar way to that which turned
Maytera Mint into the "Sword of Echidna"?  This might have been the program
Silk's only way of sending "Silk" to New Viron as a leader.  This would
explain the identity confusion.

2. What is the "secret of the inhumi"?  Is it that they emulate men's
feelings toward one another, such that they are able to prey on men because
men prey on and hate each other?  There is a passage to the effect that if
we only cared about each other more, then the inhumi would be mindless
beasts still (I assume, unable to prey on men and gain their intelligence
through blood-sucking).  I recall that Krait emulated Horn to the point that
Horn thought of him as his own son and Seawrack said he resembled Horn, and
the inhumi are chameleon-like creatures.  This might explain why Quetzal
developed his benevolent, guilt-ridden side while on the LS Whorl, to the
point where he tried to avoid drinking blood...

Anyway, I'm interested in your views on this.  Great discussion group!

-John Roberson =20

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