From: Derek Bell <dbell@maths.tcd.ie>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Quetzal
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 19:20:59 +0000


[Posted from Whorl, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

In message <199701160127.RAA08736@lists1.best.com>, "revjack@radix.net" writes:
>I seem to recall some sort of blood-sucking misfortune having befallen
>Teasel, which Dr. Crane dismissed as some sort of bat bite.

	The mention of a bat-bite - vampires traditionally turn into
bats; what other shape-shifting powers are they attributed?

	My guess at Quetzal's motivation is that he (and other inhumi)
view the crew as a resource to be fed off. Perhaps he wanted human
colonies on Green and Blue as the population would presumably be
larger and more resilient to disasters. (Including the Whorl's gradual
demise.) To that extent, his motives dovetailed with the Plan of Pas.

	Quetzal seems to target the young, not adults - I'm not sure
of the significance of that.

>: I have read somewhere that Wolfe is planning a series set on Blue and
>: Green.

	They were mentioned on pduggan's Gene Wolfe page under news
and rumours: _On_Blue's Waters_, _In_Green's_Jungles_ & _Under_the_Long_Sun_
The series is to be called _The_Book_of_the_Short_Sun_. (What else
would do?)

>I certainly hope so. Do you suppose the dark, flitting thing that Horn
>saw at the end of "Exodus" could be Oreb?

	I thought it was one of the inhumi, though I may well be
mistaken.

	Derek

Questions or problems to whorl-owner@lists.best.com