Silk's Void Cross

Fernando Q. Gouvea · 21 Jan 1997, 17:58 · from whorl-v0002.mbox · original

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From: "Fernando Q. Gouvea" <fqgouvea at colby.edu>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Silk's Void Cross
Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1997 17:58:19
Message-ID: <whorl-v0002-0063 at digest.urth.net>
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[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

**** On Tue, 21 Jan 1997 15:17:47 -0700 (MST), douge at nti.com (Doug Eigsti) =
said:

Doug> 	I like your diagram it does seem to allow for the void-cross, and
Doug> it is a nice plus-sign shape. I can find two things to take
Doug> exception.  One: The disconnected gammas which you mentioned. It
Doug> would be more elegant if the gammas were self connected, not needing
Doug> a framework to keep them together. Two: Gammas do not have arms of
Doug> equal length. They look like an upside down capitol "L".

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Doug> This has the advantage of being connected and built exclusively from
Doug> four gamma shaped objects. One can see how Silk could use a gamma as
Doug> a screwdriver for tightening the power connections on a window.

It has the disadvantage, though, of not being a cross at all! Since Wolfe
repeatedly says "voided cross", I'd expect something that was a cross but
had some sort of hole it in. (Or was missing something---an allusion I
think Wolfe intends but that is immaterial to the shape of the thing.)

Fernando

--=20

Fernando Q. Gouvea		=09
Chair, Dept. of Math & CS		Editor, MAA Online
Colby College				http://www.maa.org
fqgouvea at colby.edu			fqgouvea at maa.org
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	COMMENT

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
A medley of extemporanea;
And love is thing that can never go wrong;
And I am Marie of Roumania.
		-- Dorothy Parker

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