Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 23:30:21 -0500
From: William Ansley 
Subject: Re: (urth) neighbors

At 5:52 PM -0700 2/21/02, maa32 wrote:
>Steve commented that the appearance of the neighbors was before the pit.  This
>is incorrect.  There are neighborly artifacts and holy places before that, but
>in the pit is the first time he meets the neighbors.  They are created from
>his hybridized genes.  All of these powers Horn gets after this are a result
>of sharing tree DNA.  He was eaten there.  And born again with new powers. 
>And the neighbor he meets identifies himself as "Horn" and He Pen Ship calls
>Horn a neighbor.  I've already commented on all of those features and his
>powers in previous posts in the last archive if you want to review them.  The
>Pit is where it all happens, (and under a tree at the end of OBW).  Notice
>that the island is completely composed of huge trees, as Horn realizes later. 
>I won't repeat myself again; you are all familiar with my theories by now.  If
>you want to find a more detailed explanation, just follow my threads through
>the last archive.
>Marc Aramini

Marc,

Yes, you have expressed your theories before and at considerable 
length. You are certainly positive enough about them, but I am not 
buying any of it at the moment. I definitely find the genetic aspects 
of your "plant-human hybrids" to be highly questionable. Of course, 
that doesn't mean anything in science fiction. In fact, the only 
thing that matters is whether what you express in your theories is 
what Wolfe had in mind.

And, despite having read through the Short Sun series twice, I have 
no idea what Wolfe had in mind, so I can't criticize you on that 
account. But your theories don't help me to make any more sense out 
of the books, so they don't appeal to me either.

If I can work up enough enthusiasm to re-read the SS series (which is 
doubtful) I will be keeping your ideas in mind, however.
-- 

William Ansley

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