From: "Kieran Cleary" <kierannwn@tinet.ie>
Subject: (whorl) Re: Hy-napping
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 14:47:38 +0100


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

Gene Wolfe responded to Q. 22 as follows:

22.  "Why did Auk . . . kidnap Hyacinth, and why . . . did he let her
go?"  Because Tartaros had told him to bring a woman.  He released
her as he recovered from his brain injury, was able to think more
clearly, and realized that Hyacinth was not the woman he should
bring.  (Putting it another way, he released her because Tartaros
told him to.  These answers are not as disparate as they may appear.)

Now, as I recall, Tartaros' command included something like "..a woman is
crucial, this is not". Just musing aloud, but is this because Tartaros is
already gathering the potential colonists and is mindful of the fact that a
viable colony needs women to bear children? Is the apparent reference to
[brain injury=Tartaros] equivalent to Dr. Crane's [Outsider
enlightenment=Silk's anuerism] ?

Also, I can't admit to being too happy that the explanation of the
motivation of one of the central characters, Quetzal, remains beyond the
scope of the Long Sun books. Tune in next year, when the foul plans of the
malignant inhumi become..........less opaque.

lasrach.
----------