From: "Roy C. Lackey" 
Subject: (urth) DOORS: Klamm, Green
Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 00:12:50 -0600

Fanny's account of Lara being Klamm's "stepdaughter" wasn't true; that was
just a popular cover story put out to satisfy public curiosity about why
such a desirable young woman should be seen so much in the company of an old
man. Green figured that out and told Klamm so, which Klamm admitted, in so
many words. (300) Klamm was never married; there was no ex-wife, or if there
was, that woman was Lara. The "favorite student" (141) the former wife was
said to have been when Klamm was at the university, the wife, the ex-wife,
the stepdaughter, were all Lara at different stages of Klamm's life. She
assumed different roles as he aged.

Klamm had been Lara's lover when he was young man, when he was "younger
than" Green (301), who was about 35 at that point. Let's say that Klamm was
her lover when he was in his twenties. How old is Klamm? Though still in
government service, he is described as a "crag-faced old man" with "cheeks
pulled flaccidly downward by the weight of years". (96) I think he's in his
seventies. Like Green, Klamm was a Visitor. (302) So, for close to fifty
years Klamm had been living in the Otherworld; that had to be the case for
him to have worked his way up from a non-English speaking foreigner to a
Cabinet level position. No matter which of the time-rate ratios put forward
recently is used, that means that Klamm had to have crossed over from our
world 400 to 700 years ago! He was Lara's lover before Captain Billy. He
called Green Herr K only because Green reminded him of himself when he was
young.

I think I can explain the confusion early in the book about the buck-toothed
doctor not seeming to know Green's name until prompted. The doctor wasn't
lying either, later in the book, about having seen Green more times than he
remembered. The day he came in looking for Lara was the first time Green had
been to the clinic in some years. He had been there a number of times before
years ago, back when he had his breakdown after his mother died. The doctor
recognized him by sight, but couldn't remember his name until she correctly
mistook his explanation of viridian as his name. Then she remembered.

Green didn't consciously remember having been to the clinic before because
he was suppressing the memory of having been a mental patient, because he
thought such a man to be unworthy of Lara. He was right about Lara lying
when she said that they had met at the doctor's office. She had picked him
up in the park. (267-68) Remember the account he gave North of Lara: "We've
been living together for the past few days. With no job, Lara couldn't pay
her rent." (40) If she had been a receptionist, then she had a job. Not
having a job was just another lie she told to rationalize her living with
him for a while. She changed her hair and eye colors to muddle the issue.

Lara introduced Green to Klamm as her "friend Adam K. Green". (293) I don't
know where she got the "Adam K." part, but I doubt that was his real name.
It was her half-hearted attempt to spare the feelings of her former lover by
calling a newer lover just a "friend". As Green himself told her, "I think
you like _Billy_--like the name." (280) Herr Klamm was "Adalwolf Wilhelm
Klamm". (293) The captain was "William Hurst". (278) She didn't want to rub
it in Klamm's face that Green was another in a long line of Williams.

-Roy


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