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From: Internet Megantic <support@megantic.net> Subject: (urth) unsubscribe Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 09:31:07 At 16:10 02-08-98 -0700, you wrote: > >-------------- BEGIN urth.v017.n012 -------------- > > 001 - "Peter T. Cash" <PTCash@i - ground wire > 002 - mary whalen <marewhalen@y - (urth) Aquastor!!! > 003 - mary whalen <marewhalen@y - (urth) Notule > 004 - m.driussi@genie.com - (urth) Aquastor!!! > >URTH Digest -- for discussion of Gene Wolfe's New Sun and other works > > >--------------- MESSAGE urth.v017.n012.1 --------------- > >From: "Peter T. Cash" <PTCash@ibm.net> >Subject: ground wire >Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 17:19:59 -0700 >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >Robert Borski wrote: > >> I'd like to suggest the following >>about "Silhouette:" in my opinion it's meant to be read as the science >>fiction equivalent of a medieval Mystery Play. Throw in a little Francis > > >This is a compelling suggestion. The German names would make sense in that >context, wouldn't they? Weren't these plays a Germanic phenomenon? >... >>Neuerddraht--German for "New Earth Wire > >Actually, I believe it's better translated as "new ground wire". Perhaps >Wolfe was staring at a German circuit diagram when he was thinking about >this story. > >Hmmm. The ground wire is connected to...well...the ground, or the earth. The >inner Earth was traditionally thought to be location of Hell, so the imagery >really isn't inconsistent with your interpretation at all. The ground wire >draws the current down, into the earth, where it is lost. > >So if the ground wire is Hell, what is Heaven? The antenna? > > > > > > > >--------------- MESSAGE urth.v017.n012.2 --------------- > >From: mary whalen <marewhalen@yahoo.com> >Subject: (urth) Aquastor!!! >Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 21:10:17 -0700 (PDT) >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > >This is Sean Whalen (prion). > >I think that I have found the name aquastor. While reading about >golems, I saw that aquastor is the mystical name for a created being, >such as a golem or homunculus. > >One legend about the golem is that God told a Jew to sculpt a man out >of the clay of the River Jordan. On this was placed a tablet >inscribed with the name of god (remember the Hierodules' lecture on >souls being like carved words?). The golem was then a healer; a slave >of the Jews. Any Jew who looked on it was healed. This resembles >Severian so much, I can't help but think it's related. > >Supposedly, the concentration and power of a trained mind is required >for an aquastor's creation and maintenance. Also, the creator is >responsible for the actions of the aquastors it creates. > >Perhaps part of Severian's special relationship with the people from >Yesod is that they made an eidolon of him when he died, and are >responsible for him. Why would they resurrect some anonymous Urth >boy? Because they knew him in his future, which is their past. It's >all cyclic, you see. > >In the BNS, if there is any difference between the terms eidolon and >aquastor, it seems to be that the eidolon is created from the memories >of the person being recreated. Aquastors come from the memories of >other people. The mind from which the memories for the aquastor would >not be able to tell that they were not the real people, since they >would never act in a way that the originator wouldn't believe them to >do, even if the real person would have done something different from >that. An eidolon would be exactly like the original, since it is >created from the original's memories. Actually, the eidolon would >only be a perfect copy if the original had all the memories of its >life. A being with imperfect memory would have experienced things and >have memories hidden (or unavailable) to its current memories, and >would probably actually be slightly different from the original, >though not in significant ways, since only remembered memories would >probably have affected the original anyway. > >May I propose a theory? Severian resurrects people; that is apparent. > But, what do these renati do? They do one of two things. They >appear normal to Severian if he knew them, or they have almost no >memories if he didn't. When Severian resurrects the uhlan, he acts >like Sev. thinks an uhlan should act, and remembers what Sev. saw >happen to him. When Sev. resurrects the soldier, he has no memory, >but acts in a way like Jonas, whom Sev. was reminded of when >resurrecting him. He knows only what Sev. knew about him: that he was >a soldier, and that he had a love. He even completely adopts the name >Sev. decided to use for him. The man animated by the necromancer was >unknown to him, too, and has no memories except hatred for the >necromancer, whom Sev. already knew had "raised" him. There seems to >be no reason for these people to have no memories, other than what >Sev. knows about them. This theory, if true, solves many problems and >questions using only information provided in the books. > >When Sev. resurrects Thecla in his mind he had eaten part of her and >the alzabo, so he had all of her memories when giving her life >(recreating her soul in him). We can't even be sure exactly what the >process of autarchization is like to someone with imperfect memory and >without revitalizing power. > >prion >_________________________________________________________ >DO YOU YAHOO!? >Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > > >--------------- MESSAGE urth.v017.n012.3 --------------- > >From: mary whalen <marewhalen@yahoo.com> >Subject: (urth) Notule >Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 21:25:22 -0700 (PDT) >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > >This is Sean Whalen (prion). > >Here are the results of my exhaustive research into notules. If this >is actually what Wolfe meant, I'm actually stupefied to the extent >he'll go for a silly pun. > >Notule is French for a short note, comment, or minute. It comes from >Latin notula, the diminutive of nota (mark, token, note, sign). A >notula is a distinguishing mark or a mark of punctuation. If a notule >is supposed to resemble a vampire bat, the latter leaves a >distinguishing mark: a mark of puncturation. Shudder. > >Robert Borski has also previously reported that a noctule is a red bat >(Nyctalus noctula). I've also found that it is the diminutive of >notus (meaning well-known, famous), the diminutive of Notus (the south >wind). Notum is also the back part of an insect thorax. > >prion >_________________________________________________________ >DO YOU YAHOO!? >Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > > >--------------- MESSAGE urth.v017.n012.4 --------------- > >From: m.driussi@genie.com >Subject: (urth) Aquastor!!! >Date: Sun, 2 Aug 98 14:57:00 GMT >MIME-Version: 1.0 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >prion, > >Could we have a text citation for that "aquastor" tidbit? Author, >title, publisher, date of publication, page number of item. > >Thanks in advance! > >=mantis= > > >--------------- END urth.v017.n012 --------------- > > >*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/ > > /Serges Internet Megantic http://www.megantic.net/ *More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/