From: joak@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jonathan A. Kung)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe's New Sun stuff
Date: 2 Oct 1992 18:42:40 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: planecrash.berkeley.edu

In article <1992Oct2.174808.29891@u.washington.edu> merritt@u.washington.edu writes:
>|> There may be spoilers below, and I STILL don't know how to ^L with JOVE,
>|> so I'll be seeing you in a few...
>|> 
>|> 
>|> 
>|> 
>|> 4.  That business with the aliens from the other universe -- in which
>|>     universe does Book take place, and in which ones does Urth take
>|>     place, and how are they related.
>	Huh? I don't think I understand the question.  All the action in
>	BotNS takes place in "this" universe.  In "Urth" Severian travels
>	to the "other" universe and returns.  I'm not sure exactly what
>	you mean by "aliens from the other universe".  I believe that all
>	the "aliens" in BotNS are from "this" universe.
  Don't understand the question?  No problem; neither do I.  I guess
  I thought that the Hierogrammates (is that them, the trio with names
  like Ossiforous or whatever) were from the next universe, come back
  to help Severian because of something he did in his "first", original
  non-NewSun incarnation that passed Zak's test and asked that an alternate
  Severian be created that would become the New Sun.  (Ow.  Sharp pains
  in my head.)  If they are indeed from Severian's birth-universe (what's
  the name, Briah? or is that the other one?), then I was in error.

>|> 7.  Is Severian the first Autarch with his kind of memory?  I had at
>|>     first thought that each Autarch had perfect memory, and each one
>|>     would wait until the next person with perfect memory came along,
>|>     and then groom him for the Autarchy.
>	Interesting question.  I pass on that one.
  I should clarify: the reason I had that notion was that the Autarchy
  goes back a long way -- that means a LOT of Autarchs.  Even if they
  took that special alzabo drug (I think it was alzabo) to fully get
  the memories of everyone before, there is no way that kind of info
  could be preserved without at least some degradation without Severian's
  type of memory.  However, there is a bit of suggestion that this is
  not what happens -- that Severian kept most of his personality after
  taking the drug because of the other Autarchs' diminishment over the
  years.

>|> 13. Typhon -- why didn't he remember Severian's face from before and
>|>     kill him when he had the chance the second time (for Typhon) they
>|>     met?
>	What makes you think he didn't? Typhon certainly seemed to think
>	he would gain something substantial from control of Severian. He
>	certainly made believable threats to kill Severian if he didn't
>	capitulate.
  Oh.  No reason.  Careless reading, I suppose.

>|> 15. Whose crypt does Severian lie in?  It's from one of his past lives,
>|>     right?
>	yes.
  But which one?  Do we know?  A post-Apu-punchau identity?

>|> 16. Severian dies several times, but is cloned by the Hierogrammates,
>|>     or something, right?
>	Again I'm not sure exactly what your question is.  If you mean are
>	Severian's multiple lives due to cloning then no, I don't think this
>	is the case.  If you mean did Severian die in the ship travelling to
>	the other universe (Yesod is it? I can't keep the two names straight)
>	then I think the answer is yes, or almost, but whether his resurrection
>	was courtesy of Zak or his own power I can't quite follow.
  He also died as Apu-punchau, and awoke in his tomb, I think, and that's
  when I think the image of Master Malrubius comes again and talks to him.

>|> 17. Terminus Est was originally the property of that one guard in the
>|>     past, right?
>	You have finally hit a totally new one to me! What guard????
  When Severian, in Urth, has travelled back to the past and become the
  Conciliator, and is captured by some of Typhon's men, he is taken
  to the future-Tortuerer's Guild and imprisoned.  One of the guards
  there has a long sword described as having a square head.

>					my two cents worth,
>					Ethan A Merritt

And here're two more:
18.  Did the Green Man ever fulfill his obligation to Severian?  Remember
     that his rescuing of Severian from the pyramid structure (?) was
     regarded by the Green Man as coincidental, so he still had to help
     Severian later on.  Is his obligation perhaps fulfilled when Severian
     is presented with the branching futures:  the cold glacier one and
     the Green Man's?

19.  Was the jungle area in the Garden with the three people, one woman,
     a man, and a naked man, in the hut an instance of time-travel?  I
     remember reading that Severian noticed that those people seemed to
     be ignoring or at least trying not to notice himself and Agia.
     
-Jon Kung, thinking it's time to now lay down and rest myself