Moses(es) of the Whorl

Derek Bell · 04 Apr 1997, 14:46 · from whorl-v0004.mbox · original

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From: Derek Bell <dbell at maths.tcd.ie>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Moses(es) of the Whorl
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 1997 15:46:33 +0100
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[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

In message <199704040643.WAA08675 at lists1.best.com>, m.driussi at genie.com wri=
tes:
>[an excellent summary of mythic/religious connections with the whorl]>
>Well, enough fooling around.  I think that Silk is one Moses,

	I agree - the Moses who led the Israelites saw the promised
land, but didn't reach it. Silk sees the (new) short sun and does not
land with Horn's lander. (The difference is, we don't know Silk's
fate.)

>Auk is another (and/or he is Aaron), and Quetzal is a third (since he dies
>before getting to the promised land), but Q is also the snake
>on the stick (and of the stick), healing and frightening at the same
>time, since that brazen serpent god (healing totem/magical staff) also
>died in Exodus, making way for the transcendent god.

	I'm still a little puzzled by Quetzal's comment about the
story of the apple and the temptation: "perhaps he wanted them to get
into his tree" (I think). Is that a comment that the snakes' motives
might have been misconstued. (Likewise Q's motives if he were to be
found out to be an inhumus.)

	I'm also intruiged by Chenille - she seems to have some
unusual capabilities. For instance, when the knife was thrown by
Kypris and it hit the spot that it had been in before, it struck me
that Chenille's own reflexes/muscular control must have been *very*
precise. She is Silk's sister, but I seemed to have missed most of the
clues about her parentage. Could she have cold one programming? Could
one or *both* of her parents have been cold ones? (Ditto Silk?)

	About the description of Oreb's flight where he was going to
get revenge on Tick - I had the idea of Horn interviewing Oreb and
trying to translate his speech! Unlikely, I know, but it amused me
greatly!

	Tercel

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