From: m.driussi@genie.geis.com
Subject: (urth) black/white holes
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 98 15:56:00 GMT


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

Reply:  Item #0242743 from URTH@LISTS.BEST.COM@INET01#

Tony Ellis,

Re: the shortcut Sev and Gunnie enter from Yesod (worldship
interior, to be exact) to get to an Urthbound ship Tzadkiel in the
Age of the Monarch as a black hole linking to the white fountain: now
that is an interesting idea I haven't seen before, and it seems
"right" in many ways.  There are problems (beyond the usual "spaceman
turned into spaghetti by tidal forces of black hole" varieties).

The subspace problem is solved if we use the "pocket universe for
Yesod's underground" that I mentioned a few messages back.

A possible problem: okay, so Tzadkiel is swimming through space one
day and this white hole appears with some kind of velocity toward
Urth; crewmembers see some folks floating around, launch a rescue
arrow, and pull them aboard; ship continues on, drops off Sev and
Gunnie with a tender which then sails to Urth (a trip that takes days
of shipboard time yet months of objective time--note the visible
movement of planets in their orbits) and leaves them in Typhon's
reign.

But!  But!  The =light= of the white fountain first reaches Urth in
the time of Apu Punchau (the physical body doesn't arrive until
Valeria's regency).  Granted that the white fountain is (assumed to
be) moving much slower than ship Tzadkiel, still, said ship cannot be
travelling over the speed of light in Briah.

Must ponder.

=mantis=