From: Adam Stephanides <adamsteph@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) PEACE: The visit to Van Ness
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2000 21:10:58 

Michael Straight wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 10 Dec 2000, Adam Stephanides wrote:
> 
> > 3.  Shortly afterwards, there is this exchange between Weer and the
> > nurse:
> >
> >    "Please, I've got to see the doctor.  I'm dying."
> >    The nurse: "All these people are ahead of you."
> >    Ted Singer and Sherry Gold are both obviously much younger than I,
> > but there is no use arguing with that kind of thing. (4)
> >
> > Weer is uncharacteristically obtuse here (I can't recall any similar
> > instances).
> 
> When Weer says he's dying and the nurse says the others are ahead of him,
> he takes her to mean (perhaps knowing she doesn't really mean) that Ted
> and Sherry are closer to dying than he is, although, being younger, they
> are probably further away from dying than Weer.

I was aware of that.  But that obviously isn't what the nurse meant, and
I read Weer's comment as indicating that he doesn't know that's not what
she meant.

Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:

> This seemed fairly clear to me. "Ahead of you": They died first.

That happens to be true, but it can't be what the nurse meant, since the
other characters in the doctors' visits don't know the "future" (nor
does it fit the context).  Nor is it what Weer thinks she meant,
otherwise his comment makes no sense.

--Adam

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