Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 00:04:13 -0700
From: maa32 
Subject: (urth) not so sure about this...

Andy stated:
       As I thought - Wolfe is obeying internally generated mythic imperatives 
in creating these patterns. He does not know if Ushas/Lune is Blue/Green,
       and he can't tell us.
       As I thought - Wolfe is obeying internally generated mythic imperatives 
in
       creating these patterns. He does not know if Ushas/Lune is Blue/Green,
       and he can't tell us.
>
all I can say is that Nick did not ask specifically if Urth was Blue; he asked 
if St. Croix and St. Anne fit in thematically. Wolfe claims he does not know 
if he is using mythic patterns in that quote, not that he doesn't know whether 
urth and blue are the same.  He just doesn't know how St. Anne and St. Croix 
might be related ... I see the exact opposite of how you interpret that ... 
but I think Gene knows whether Urth is Blue or not.  I'm sure he does.  He 
just won't say for sure because, (I quote him) "it would spoil your fun". He 
backs off any question that touches on Blue and Urth - I think he is proud of 
hiding their connection so well, and hides behind his uncanny dodging ability.
 Remember how he keeps claiming that the primary inspiration behind Severian 
stems from his sorow at not having a character for a masquerade party?  That's 
a pretty insipid inspiration for the fine work of art he produced ... I think 
Wolfe knows if Blue and Green are Ushas and Lune, but I'm not sure if he knows 
who Severian's sister really is.  Just my two cents. Also, another point from 
the interview: the godlings have sonar, don't forget. Pig claims he can "hear" 
where the foliage is even if he is blind.  There is more than one or two hints 
that they themselves might be mechanical.  But the distinction between organic 
and mechanical life has become blurred in the texts.
Marc



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