From: m.driussi@genie.geis.com
Subject: (urth) Many Mts., Little Time
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 98 05:57:00 GMT


[Posted from URTH, a mailing list about Gene Wolfe's New Sun and other works]

Reply:  Item #1972270 from URTH@LISTS.BEST.COM@INET02#

vizcacha,

Right.  So we've got 1000 years and, as you guess, 100 carved
mountains.  Now then: what is a "mountain" in the Urth sense, and
what is the separation between these sites (since Mount Typhon, at
least, isn't crowded up like Mount Rushmore).  There are mountain
ranges, but even then there are peaks.

I'm looking at a low detail map of South America right now.  There
are the mighty Andes right there, and only five named peaks: Pico
Cristobal Colon (19,029 ft); Huascaran (22,205); Vol. Llullaillaco
(22,057); Ojos del Salado (22,572); and Aconcagua (22,831).

Here in California we've got Mt. Whitney (14,494 ft.) among other
mountains and, the one often confused with Fujiyama, Mt. Shasta
(14,162), a big lava cone all alone in a wide valley.

So: what are the dimensions of the carving; how many suitable peaks
are in the Commonwealth, anyway (i.e., no carving Ascian mountains);
and for autarchial reigns, shall we model averages on Byzantine
emperors or Pharoahs of Egypt?

=mantis=