(urth) Baldanders

[pthwndxrclzp]

Wow. Now I'm *really* confused. I don't have text references available, but
I always thought it was axiomatic that Baldanders was a baby Abaia -- and as
such, an alien infant dropped or otherwise delivered to Urth. Obviously,
that could be wrong, but I can't recall a single indication that he was
originally a human being. Quite the opposite -- it seems like Wolfe takes
great pains to show us that Baldanders is something very "other."

The things ya learn on this list....

On 5/17/06, Macronaut <macronaut at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I agree.  And I would argue that, as a candidate for epitome of Earth,
> Baldanders represented the Earth-that-was-punished with a black hole:
> mankind as amoral exploiter of nature and enslaver of fellow man.  In fact,
> the contrast presented when the heirodules bow down to Sev instead of
> Baldanders is pretty momentus foreshadowing because it ties so many
> inferences together, ie. that (a) Sev  will be epitome of Earth; (b) Sev
> represents a different mankind than Baldanders; (c) judging by Baldanders'
> example ("human under glass, anyone?") that version is a kinder, gentler,
> more noble one; and (d) as such, he will succeed in expiating Man's sins and
> bringing the New Sun.  Baldanders is a would-be Typhon -- his
> self-alteration is just one more clue tying the two together.
>
> Finally, I think there's also something to be found in the fact that
> Baldanders starts off as a very small man who grows to bloated size as the
> result of his depradations against his fellow man -- it suggests Napoleon,
> which if intentional can be read as a symbol of mankind's conquering
> arrogance.  And is it any coincidence that Wolfe simultaneously casts
> Baldanders as the freak in a travelling road show (and one watched with
> dismay and amusement by the heirodules at the House Absolute)?
>
> Macronaut
>
>
> *David DiGiacomo <david at slack.com>* wrote:
>
> >Apologies if this sounds like a facile question, but after searching the
> >list, doing other web searches and reading Solar Labyrinth, I'm still at
> a
> >loss as to what or who Baldanders is.
>
> I believe that he is a human who modified himself to extend his life
> (through the SFnal mechanism of unending growth). Otherwise he would not
> be a candidate for Autarch/epitome.
>
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