(urth) Re: Increate on trial

[Chris]

>There is in fact nothing in boTNS to verify the existence of god:  He is 
>not seen, only his servants are.  Presumably their faces are turned to him 
>and we see only their backs, but they might be faking.   It's all faith and 
>instructions transmitted by messengers.

There is an implication that this role is only perceived to be with the 
Hierogrammates/Hierodules because of the particular stage of the cycle that 
humanity was on at the time. That is, at some other time humanity acted as 
the servants as the Increate to uplift the H's; they are returning the 
favor, and in turn presumably humanity will (in its improved state) act to 
improve the H's even further.

>((In boTSS we do of course have a direct divine contact with man.))

I think that this is at best a gnostic sort of divine contact. The scene in 
which Silkhorn feels the presence behind them... if he had turned around 
they would have seen Wolfe's face.

Of course he did not, because that is not what we do. It is not for the 
created to look on the face of the creator. But Wolfe in a way I think has 
to acknowledge his role as a mediating creator between God and the 
characters in Wolfe's novels.