RTTW spoilers, Delusional and/or Quixotic

Michael Andre-Driussi · 17 Feb 2001, 15:54 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at sirius.com>
Subject: (whorl) RTTW spoilers, Delusional and/or Quixotic
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2001 15:54:11
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Just talking to myself here, explaining two angles of the narrator, as I
seem them.

"Delusional" is the angle where 100% Silk is present in the narrator from
the transfer moment from Green to Whorl.  The Horn content of the narrator
can be set at 0, at which point "100% Delusional": The "mad man" theory, if
you will--total validation of what Calde Mint sees, with no further
complications.  The narrator is Silk/is not Horn, and just needs time to
adjust to this state. (* more on this, see below)

"Quixotic" is the term I use for the angle that appears to be a quest to
find or become a person who only exists in a book. Don Quixote himself (50%
Delusional? <g>) lives in a world created by a library of heroic romances;
his self-created persona and subsequent life and death is an approximation
of the fictional made real (or made real again).  Horn's initial situation
is more analogous to this: imagine Spain is in deep trouble, and Cervantes
is charged with bringing Don Quixote to rule Madrid, since everybody loves
and respects Don Quixote and would happily submit to his rule (however much
it might resemble the reign of "Emperor Norton").

The way I see it, these two angles can be exclusive (for example, 100%
Delusional can have little use for Quixotic), and they can work together in
some combinations, but there are some combinations where they do not work
so well.  And unfortunately, all the other characters would likely see
"Quixotic" as "Delusional" (as in the case of Don Quixote).

Personally, I can accept the reading that there was not spirit exchange
between Pig and N, that it was just a friendly meeting to forstall the
inevitable, but the build-up and the event itself seemed like something
else to me.

The appearance of Doctor Crane's ghost does not "solve" anything for me,
since I see Crane as being one of the primary authors of Calde Silk in
TBOTLS, at least according to Horn (who has any idea what Crane means to
Silk?), and since I tend to think that Horn is seeing this ghost (rather
than Silk alone), well then--it is another log for the Quixotic stack.

* further refinement/muddling of "Delusional"--well obviously there are at
least two main flavors of Delusional here: Silk-Delusional (a Silk spirit
who says "I'm not Silk," etc., the Lear-sized loonie seen by Calde Mint)
and Horn-Delusional (a Horn spirit who says "I'm not Silk," if and only if
there really =3Dis=3D some Silk spirit in there; otherwise he is not
delusional!).

=3Dmantis=3D

Sirius Fiction
Catalog and errata sheet at http://www.sirius.com/~mantis/

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