The Palindromes, Ma & Pa

This is the last of the major genealogical timeloop inversions of New Sun. Father Inire's name derives from Latin and means "to begin, to enter." Like many of the other incestuously involved couples of Urth (Agia, Agilus; Sev, Dorcas;Sev, Valeria), he too is sleeping with a blood relative--his sister, the Cumaean. And who are their parents? (Tony Ellis came very close to figuring this out). They're Severian and Apheta (whose name means "starting place"). Now somebody dare tell me Gene Wolfe does not have one wicked sense of humor! Robert Borski

Well, somebody has a wicked sense of humor, anyway. William Ansley