Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 00:56:07 -0700
Subject: Re: (urth) sev's skull
From: Lisa Schaffer-Doggett 


On Tuesday, July 8, 2003, at 12:47 PM, maa32 wrote:

>    If he's not the first Severian (and we meet
> Ymar in Urth, and Severian says little about being identical to him -
> something one would certainly note: "he looked just like me as a kid! 
> Go
> figure!")

Don believes that the skull might or might not be Severian's.  Don 
however is certain that Severian leaves out many things when it suits 
him as both the Book of the New Sun and the Urth of the New Sun are 
Apologies and somewhat self serving autobiographies.  Don would also 
venture to guess that if a person fully grown ran into someone who 
looked exactly like him as a child he might not recognize it, a 
person's current self image being the dominant one in his thoughts.  
Ymar is the first Severian.  He is the Aleph.  He is also the only 
other one who was raised by torturers and went in a ship to attempt a 
reconciliation with the Hieros.  The original "Severian" has a tomb on 
Urth.  His timeline is not negated by our Severian who, though he may 
have died many times, has no mausoleum.  I have no doubts about this 
and only a direct negation by Gene Wolfe himself will change my mind.

Don is through ranting now.


--