Sev's Dad; Aztecs in Space

Don't know if this has been brought up before, but if Owen/Ouen is considered to be the Welsh/Celtic equivalent of Eugene, doesn't that mean Sev's father might also be called Gene? ******************************************************* One of the more puzzling names in THE FIFTH HEAD OF CERBERUS to be sourced is the Country of Friends. It's cited by the abos as the possible homeport of the star-faring Homo sapiens pangalacticus, who've traveled to Saint Anne in the distant past, and mentioned in the same breath as Atlantis and Gondwanaland. I'm now speculating it relates to the Aztecs. This is because Texas--where Gene Wolfe grew up--is derived from the Indian word "texia," meaning "friends." And since Texas was once part of Mexico, it's possible the Country of Friends generally refers to Aztecan civilization. I like this notion because it plays off of several aspects. (1) It has the GW autobiographical element we see so often in FIFTH HEAD. (2) Many pseudo-scientific theories would have us believe that [a] the Aztecs, Toltecs, Incas et al. are all survivors of the Atlantean catastrophe, or [b] were contacted by, or are descendents, of prehistoric spacetravelers. And (3) many of the MesoAmerican Indian tribes were also cannibalistic, as are the Annese. Whether this is original with Wolfe, or if Country of Friends is someone else's coinage, remains to be determined. Robert Borski

I like this too. I have a nagging idea that the phrase "the Country of Friends" occurs elsewhere in Wolfe and I have seen it recently in my rereading. If I find the reference, I will certainly post. William Ansley

In message <199807180352.UAA19972 at lists1.best.com>, "William H. Ansley" writes:

I think it's in the short story Feather Tigers, IIRC. It occurs in the dialog between the main protagonist and the sky(space?) yacht. Derek