From: "Alice Turner" <al@interport.net>
Subject: (whorl) Re: Digest whorl.v001.n056
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 10:49:04 


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

Quill:

You've demonstrated a fine ability to fling mantis into orbit in his antic
mantic mode!

I like that Mint theory. Wolfe is very coy about Mint--we know nothing at
all about her background, not even her original name, which is unusual in
so important a figure. The only small argument against it is that the two
embryos we know for sure (not counting lynxes) are never demonstrably
possessed---I consider enlightenment to be something else. OTOH, Mint's
possession is very different from anyone else's. We won't know for sure
unless it comes up in the new series.

I think the Triv theory of no images refers back to Islam more than
anything else--Triovdom is sort of a feminist Islamic parody. No
theophanies isn't the same as no images. I wish someone here would clear up
the Triv language for us!

> 	Another idea: why on Urth would Tartaros want to save all of
> Pas's nasty parts? If I were him, I'd have filtered out Pas's spirit
> and molded him into what was needed before I stored him- castrated
> him, lets say. 

But I think that's just what Tartaros did. (Actually, I think he limited it
even more, since I think "Pas" is just a shell.)

-alga-

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