enemies list

And another thing I've never quite understood. Why do the Autarch, and after him Severian, with the complicity of Father Inire, continue to subversively encourage the rebels, taking care to set up Agia after Vodalus's death? This movement doesn't seem to be particularly large, but it does a lot of damage and it requires attention that might be better put to fighting the Ascians. -alga-

alga, I've always taken the covert support by the Phoenix Throne of Vodalus/Agia as a "1984-ish" trick--Big Brother (gov't) controls the Brotherhood (anti-gov't underground). With a dash of Machiavelli, since the Commonwealth really is at war with Ascia (rather than the seeming puppetshow wars of 1984--the Brotherhood would appear to be a domestic affair rather than an international terrorist cell); Vodalus is working both sides to gain the throne for himself; Agia just likes to play Xena. I was going to write that if Vodalus knew with certainty that he was being supported by the autarch himself rather than a shadowy faction within the House Absolute, he would break the link. But I'm not so sure . . . Vodalus might be another patsy, another candidate for the throne being cultivated by the autarch, in the same way that Baldanders is being cultivated for the throne by O, B, & F. (For example, Thecla was not arrested by the autarch's order, but by some faction apparently a bit more concerned with stopping Vodalus.) An espionage game of "toying with the devil you know" rather than letting unknown alien agents run around in the countryside. =mantis=

That is a depressing thought. Vodalus is ersatz to the bone, as symbolized by the false coin. His only redeeming feature is a certain courtliness toward Thea--but look how he betrays his "servant" (the Autarch) in the crunch. The "1984" analogy is a good one (that's hard to follow too!), but I must say that together with the E, A & S (and Baldanders too) role under the New Sun, the Vodalus connection seems to me among the less than tightly hammered together links of the series. -alga-