Too literal on everything?

Andy Robertson · 04 Jan 2002, 10:39 · from whorl-v0013.mbox · original

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From: "Andy Robertson" <andywrobertson at clara.co.uk>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Too literal on everything?
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 10:39:29 -0000
Message-ID: <whorl-v0013-whorl.v012.n180.4 at digest.urth.net>
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----- Original Message -----
From: "James Jordan" <jbjordan4 at home.com>
>
>          I don't think they correspond, save they each is a duality that
> invites reflection. <snip>          I think Lune is just
> kind of up in the sky, in the heavens, an  image of Yesod
> in a way. If the humans of Urth could ever learn to rule
> their own little world, they might grow up to rule a universe like Briah,
> and become like the sub-angels of Yesod -- when they have become Green
Men.
>          But I don't think these double planets are supposed to BE the
same
> places (obviously not), nor that they mean the same things in the three
> novels.

Very wisely put.

I wish even more that we had seen that visit of Severian to Lune.  And I
agree about Perelandra showing through in the Green worlds, just a bit.
Ransom in the caves.

One other pattern of Green and Blue in the deep strata of SF - Earth/Moon in
Hothouse.  But Earth is "Green".

> >Wolfe is never *quanitative* in any meaningful way.    His universe is
too
> >dreamy and  fluid.
>
>  Wolfe has surely figured out how the inhumi get to
> Blue. If he makes mistakes in the area of science and engineering, they
are
> accidents, not the result of writing a dreamscape. Or so it seems to me.

He hasn't because there is no way they can.  As a trained physicist, trust
me on this.

I'm not accusing Wolfe of doing anything more than the average SF writer
does.

Energy beam weapons, blasters, FTL of any sort, are all nonsense in terms of
real scientific practicality, but are familiar SF tropes.

Wolfe employs them all but allows a little mysticsim rather then bullshit
pseudosience into his "explanations".

The inhumi's ability to fly through space is of a part with this: it is no
more possible than FTL flight would be in the real universe.

It exists because Wolfe's dreams demand thet the evil inhumi come from Green
and come **naked**, flying through space like the spirit-ghost-dream-images
of humanity they are

(and there's another echo:  Lovecraft's night-gaunts)

    Andy R

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