From: mary whalen <marewhalen@yahoo.com>
Subject: (urth) Autarchial dynasties
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 1998 17:24:45 

This is Sean Whalen (prion).

I can think of a number of ways that a genealogical line of Autarchs
could fail.

The Autarch's children may not be near enough to eat his brain before
someone else has to.  Whoever is near him when he dies may just eat
his brain to become Autarch immediately.  There would even be plots to
kill the Autarch and quickly eat his brains.

The children may not want to eat their parents' brains, or be unable
if they're very small.  The Autarch may not have had a chance to have
any children.  A plot could exist to put contraceptive agents into the
food supply to keep this from happening by the Exultants, who would
have many plots  similar to this also.

It's also possible to go insane from the process of becoming Autarch. 
Gaining all those memories is very traumatic and could cause even one
in two to go insane. The children may not be very lucky, especially as
they will see their lives as part of their parents' perspective. 
Smaller children would probably be even more susceptible.  They would
have fewer memories of their own and be able to lose their identity
easier.  These would never become "self-rulers."

Plots could also exist to kill all the children and the Autarch at the
same time, then feed his brains to someone else, or similar things,
created by the Exultants or anyone else.  Things like this could also
happen by accident.

With all these problems, it's entirely possible that most of the
Autarchs Severian remembers were originally commoners.  Few dynasties
are very likely, with all the hatred the Exultants feel toward Autarchs.

prion
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