From: "Alice Turner" <al@interport.net>
Subject: (urth) Re: Digest urth.v013.n004
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 23:56:51 


Neal Smith writes:
>-------------------------------
>desk? That's why I say colonists rather than explorers, who presumably have
>been trained in many skills. Or, if that won't wash, say that nearly
>everyone was killed except for a few folks as dumb as me. And that we then
>inbred and got kind of spacy, as I would imagine people do get under such
>circumstances (cf Australia, if you like--hi Damien!).  This, it seems to
>me, would create at least a rope bridge between you and Borski.
>...
>
>Exactly. They devolved because of lack of ability to pass on acquired
>knowledge. Also (this is 1972), they're a bit New Agey to start with.
>-------------------------------
>
>With respect to the idea that the abos are "spacey" or "New Agey",
>I think the addictive, (perhaps hallucinogenic?) drug that the shadow
>children are shown being addicted to in "A Story" would provide this.


Excellent, Neal! I haven't had time to reread the second 2/3 of 5HC and I'd
forgotten that. Good witness for my side against you-know-who-you-are (and
no, I don't have time tonight to take up your challenge, but I promise I'll
make some at least by the weekend).

Four-Eyes:

>what were the footsteps in the cave of
>the man-apes? The first step "might have been the walking of a
>tower on the Final Day..." (Claw, VI). And then two books later,
>lo and behold, ".. a machine that flashed fire, a machine that
>was like a tower walking." (Citadel, XXII).  Then scarcely a page
>later, Mamillian's footstep remind Severian of "that I had once
>waked in the mine of the man-apes." (Citadel, XXIII). It's like
>a Martian war machine in the War of the Worlds!


It's a Tall Ass! I love this! Bravo! And we just know the taluses are going
to show up as important in TBOTSS because of the inordinate amount of time
Wolfe spent on the factory that makes them, so it's a tie between the
series. Hooray!

-alga-


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