From: Pedro Jorge Romero <bempjr@redkbs.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) The "Number Five = Five Gen
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 16:35:18 +0100


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

> Robert Borski:
> The only slight problem I have with your interpretation is that you
> count Mr. Million twice, once as a human being and again as the
> simulator, which feels like cheating to me! Since the simulator is
> a faithful copy of the original person, I don't think they can be
> regarded as separate entities to the extent that the various clones
> are.

I have the same problem. I can not count him twice.

> And don't forget that Dr Marsch says that the first GW was
> someone "neither of you have ever seen". If Mr Million was
> the first GW, that would mean that Maitre never saw his own
> grandfather; in any event, Number Five and Maitre can see Mr
> Million's face in his screen. So for this reason too I don't think
> Mr Million can be simulating the original GW.
> 
> If I'm going to go along with the Five Generations theory I think
> I'll have to take Pedro Jorge's interpretation, where there is still
> another "Gene Wolfe" behind Mr Million, who was the first.

Here is my theory. The original GW is the baby with the girl in the
picture Jeannine shows #5. After all, she says she is the his true
mother, so it is easy to figure out the girl is the mother of the
original GW and the baby is #1.

And just speculating: is that a picture of Gene Wolfe's real mother?

> And here's another reason:
> "if, as I had always thought of them, the three heads represented
> Maitre, Madame and Mr Million... then indeed a fourth would have
> to be welded into place soon for David himself"

But that's just what he "always thought". He could be wrong.

> Another objection is that Aunt Jeannine looks strongly like Maitre.
> You would expect any sister of Number Five's to have the old
> family likeness too.

Is Jeannine the "control" in the previous experiment? Then, why a girl?
A boy, like David, would make much more sense?

Best

Pedro Jorge

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