From: Derek Bell <dbell@maths.tcd.ie>
Subject: Re: (whorl) The Light Outside and Kypris
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 15:56:58 +0100


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

In message <199706101304.GAA08404@lists1.best.com>, Michael Straight writes:
>Silk's description of the shaking makes it seem like a singular
>event, not something Whorl inhabitants are used to experiencing, which is
>what made me think that the ships engines were firing for the first time
>in many years.  Which made me think "The ship has arrived at its
>destination!"  Which puts a kink in the idea that the Whorl has been
>orbiting for a long time (an interpretation that otherwise appeals to me). 

	Even if it were a ship's engine firing, it could be to change
the orbit slightly. (I include retro-rockets in "engine", as they
would have to be huge to alter the orbit and certainly capable of
shaking Silk's Whorl as well as his whorlview.)

>Are we to believe that Kypris the concubine could throw a knife as
>Chenille does?  Or that Typhon the tyrant was able to understand and
>repair any mechanical device as Auk does? 

	<speculation>Maybe the different deities were programmed to
have abilities the originals didn't so each deity would have an
advantage over the others in one area - after all the cities were
designed to fairly isolated from each other, both geographically[1] and
culturally to prevent them uniting against Mainframe, so it could be
that the deities were programmed to discourage them fighting, at least
until they reached their desination.</speculation>

	Of course, that's not proven, just a (IMHO) plausible scenario
- and we know how many of Silks' plausible scenarios were wrong! ;-)

	Tercel

[1]I know, it's not the most appropriate world - maybe
"whorlographically" would be better.