Hour of Trust (was Re: (urth) The Best Introduction to the

It's not clear to me why you think the bald man reciting the Lord's Prayer is Wolfe, or even why you think Wolfe approves of the rebellion. Among other things, the bald man is a suicide bomber, and while Wolfe as a Catholic might approve of rebellion under some circumstances, I doubt he could approve of suicide, which is definitely a sin. Moreover, the recruiting centers for volunteers include not only Buddhist spiritual centers, which Wolfe might possibly be ecumenical enough to approve of, but a temple of Kali (166, Orb edition), which he almost certainly isn't. And the government against which they're rebelling is portrayed as incompetent, but not tyrannical. It's a strange story anyway, and one which I think has been dismissed too readily (myself included). I remembered it as just an anti-corporation tract, and it is that, but it may also be the Wolfe story which wears its modernist mannerisms most boldly on its sleeve, aside from jeux d'esprit like Parkroads. (And I have to admit that it was only on this reading that I realized where the story was taking place.) --Adam

I stand corrected! Sure, it's got to be Wolfe, but Wolfe is clearly making a joke on himself.

I'd like to return to this story at some point. There's a lot of interesting setup stuff in the early part, perhaps "the four corners of the world" by allusion. I think this is a "packed" story. Nutria