From: "Roy C. Lackey" 
Subject: Re: (urth) King Jesus/Autarch Severian/Calde Silk - Part Two
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 03:21:24 -0600

Don Doggett:
First of all, I would like to welcome you to the list, if I may so presume.
Whether I agree with your theories or not, I like your style and ability to
express yourself cogently. In fact, I confess to having been pleasantly
surprised by the writing abilities of several of the newer, younger (at
least I assume they are young) posters who have been cropping up here in
recent months.

I haven't read KING JESUS, so I can't knowledgeably comment on your theory
of parallels with the SUN books. Just a few points:

Don Doggett wrote:

[snip]
>This also fills in several plot questions, such as how
>Pas/Typhon intended to continue his rule on Blue and why Silk was invited
to
>merge with Pas.  Silk is Typhon.  It is the face that is most important.
>Maybe.

Silk is so unlike Typhon that it's hard to imagine him as a clone. If he
was, nurture rode roughshod over nature to an alarming degree, rendering a
final product so at variance with the original that it would have been
completely unacceptable to a megalomaniac like Typhon. Also, had Typhon been
in possession of a cloned, frozen embryo he believed to be perfectly viable,
to which he planned, somehow, to transfer his personality at the conclusion
of the _Whorl's_ journey, do you think he would have stored it anywhere that
a member of the cargo could possibly have gotten their hands on it? I think
not.

Further, had Typhon such a cloned embryo, it could have been brought to
maturity in the same time that was needed to build the _Whorl_. If the
technique of "possession" via the eyes were known *before* the _Whorl_ was
launched, then Typhon had to hand a better means of extending his biological
life than grafting his own head to another body. Plant the embryo; wait for
it to grow while the ship was being built. When Typhon's head was cut off he
was, in effect, dead. If he had been scanned immediately prior to
decapitation, the scanned image could then be transferred to the clone and
Typhon has his new body, same face and all. More certain than waking up
after decollation.

[snip]
>This is really stretching but l have to indulge myself.
>Assuming that Blue is Ushas (which I am nearly certain of, but that's
>another can of worms) Silk, by travelling through time, can be John to

If you've read the archives, then you know I have argued that Blue isn't
Ushas, so I won't repeat my arguments. I believe, and consensus here seems
to be, that what Silkhorn does when he travels by spirit does *not* involve
time travel.

As Hammerstone explained to Silk, the _Whorl_ seems to have been designed to
last for a period of only about 250 years. That's why so many things in the
ship are breaking down in Silk's day. So, Typhon intended a voyage with a
destination something less that 250 light years from Urth. Traveling at
something below light speed, subjective time on the ship was about 1/3 of a
millenium, while on Urth a full millenium had passed from Typhon's day to
Sev's. When Silkhorn traveled to Urth, he was traversing space, not time
traveling. The passage of time on Blue was the same as on Urth. When Horn
first landed on Blue, it was a few years before Sev was born. It's why, when
Silkhorn and the others went to Urth and found themselves on the _Samru_,
then went back to Blue, Silkhorn was allowing for the distance the _Samru_
would have traveled downstream in their absence. (WHORL, 350) This is also
another argument against Blue being Ushas. Urth and Blue are quite a few
light years apart, and Ushas is more than fifty years in Urth's future,
therefore more than fifty years in Silkhorn's future.

>Severian's Jesus while Severian (who makes many appearances throughout SS
>imho) can be John to Silk's Jesus on Blue/Ushas.  I know that's a stretch
>but the Moebius strip logic of it entertains me immensely.  I also think
>that the Mandragora is also Severian (a failed clone) and that Valeria is
>his sister (if he even has one).

Other than the obvious appearances we all know about, where does Sev show up
in SS?

-Roy


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