Long Sun/Short Sun possible tie-ins

Kieran Cleary · 26 Feb 1997, 11:23 · from whorl-v0003.mbox · original

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From: "Kieran Cleary" <kcleary at nwlabs.ie>
Subject: (whorl) Long Sun/Short Sun possible tie-ins
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 11:23:19 +0000
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[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

Perhaps someone can help me out on this one:

In tBotNS, Typhon gets his head grafted onto poor Piatus's (?) body=20
obviously in order to prolong his life and reign. Since he seems to=20
have had the technology to copy/store his consciousness in a computer=20
and thus posess people at will, surely this would have been a better=20
method of achieving the same thing with Piatus or whoever. I do remember th=
at=20
Typhon made a big deal about his face, and that it was important for=20
the leader's face to remain, but he could have gone the Lemur et al. route=20
and fashioned himself a chem.

Which leads me to suggest that, since he didn't, perhaps Mainframe=20
represents Inhumi technology which, for some reason, Typhon himself=20
has access to. I know that, certainly by Severain's time, there is=20
nothing new under the sun, but maybe it's possible?

On another note, I can't help liking Xury's idea about Blue being=20
Ushas, perhaps, like others, because I'd prefer to see a stronger tie=20
in with tBotNS. The current Pas/Typhon is such a weak link on its=20
own. Perhaps it could have happened like this:

Typhon is getting worried: the exultants are fleeing Urth and a=20
miracle worker has arisen telling everyone about the New Sun and=20
spreading foment. So as a gamble on the future he builds a generation=20
starship, fills it with Urthers who, by the end of the journey,=20
will worship him as a god, and sleepers who will have all the technical=20
know-how necessary to rebuild the Empire, while Typhon et famille
are copied into the ship's mainframe (problem above still thorny,=20
though), the plan being that Typhon will posess some unlucky=20
individual and resume his activities once they reach Urth (sort of a=20
"Carry On Despot!")
After a subjective near light speed journey of 300 years, the ship returns =
to=20
Urth, now Ushas. The coming of the New Sun has caused the old=20
continents to sink, and according to Dr. Talos play, a new race of=20
monsters has arisen? Another effect of the New Sun's arrival is=20
gravitational upheaval throughout the system, causing Lune's orbit=20
around Ushas to become eccentric, thus they periodically meet in=20
conjunction.

Kieran

____________________________________________________________
Kieran Cleary
Senior Research Engineer
North West Labs
Finisklin Industrial Estate
Sligo
Republic of Ireland

Tel. +353 71 69441
Fax. +353 71 69451
email kcleary at tinet.ie
___________________________________________________________

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