IGJ: altar sceneWhorl

I was reviewing the altar scene, and I just noticed the following sentence, where Horn is narrating the manifestation of the Outsider: "I knew that he was there, that if I turned, I would see them." (285) Is that "them" a typo? If not, what does it mean? --Adam *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

-----Original Message----- From: Adam Stephanides [mailto:adamsteph at earthlink.net] Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2000 1:18 AM To: whorl at lists.best.com Subject: (whorl) IGJ: altar scene I was reviewing the altar scene, and I just noticed the following sentence, where Horn is narrating the manifestation of the Outsider: "I knew that he was there, that if I turned, I would see them." (285) Is that "them" a typo? If not, what does it mean? --Adam The triple god? Father, son & holy ghost? *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

Perhaps, but I don't recall anywhere else where Horn indicates a belief in the Outsider's multiple nature. And even if he did, the unexplained shift from singular to plural in the same sentence would still be very odd if both referred to the Outsider. --Adam *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

The same one and many is seen in the first paragraph of Nightside. I'd say that the Outsider comes with His retinue, which is the angels and the dead saints. But a hint of the trinity cannot be excluded. Pat. Nut. *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.

Is the baletiger around yet? SBear. *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.