From: "Robert Borski" <rborski@coredcs.com>
Subject: (urth) Malrubius
Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 20:42:58 

When Severian's cabin aboard the Quasar is broken into by Idas and
plundered, Sev has only one big worry: "Whatever he had sought, I had
possessed only one treasure: the letter Master Malrubius had given me,
identifying me as the legitimate Autarch of Urth." (URTH, p.42) 

Malrubius, being dead of course, he means the aquastared version of
Malrubius, as Idas later confirms ("Your letter, the one that the aquastars
of Urth gave you for the Hierogrammate...")

But hold on a second here. How is it that an aquastar, and of Malrubius no
less, has this much cachet with a grand Pooh Bah of Briah? Aren't aquastars
true to the memories held of them? And if they are, why would the
Hierogrammate find a letter from Malrubius--a dead Master of the
Torturers--more compelling and legitimate than one from, say, Father Inire?
Or does the Hierodule animating machine put a little of itself into each
aquastar--kind of a secret sharer, co-intelligence (in which case a letter
from Triskele would have as much value as one from Malrubius)? I have my
theories, of course; but rather than be laughed off this list once more
time, I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts first.

Oh yeah. While I'm talking about aquastars, Miles is one.

Robert Borski

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/