From: "Kieran Cleary" <kierannwn@tinet.ie>
Subject: Re: (urth) Mirrors, Apports
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:41:06 


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

er, well I haven't read "The Cat", so I'm not sure what the "circle" you're
referring to is.

>Re: apports.  Based upon the one case we have, apports seem to be
>reflections (of sailors who pass in front of the mirrors) that come
>to life on their own.

I really don't think this is so. The ship's hold contains the caged apports,
and in fact the Tzadkiel-sliver which comes to resemble Severian is assumed
to be one. The ship's sails accidentally act as mirrors and, as in the case
of the Fish, images are created *without an object*, which subsequently come
to form real beings. Gunnie finds it funny that the apports may be important
people on their own worlds, but are snatched away and caged in hold of the
ship. Problem here though in that Fr. Inire says that a coherent light
source (laser) is required for anything more complicated than the Fish to
form. The ship is presumably driven by starlight which is non-coherent.
Hmmm.

Kieran C.

North West Labs
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