(urth) Hierodules & time

[thalassocrat at nym.hush.com]

It is hierodules who are supposed to travel backwards through time, 

right? I always get the various hiero-levels mixed up.

Whatever, it's a really annoying plot device & I'm glad that Wolfe 
dropped it in the (far, far better, IMO) Long/Short Sun books.

If they actually do move backwards in time then surely this must be 

true of each instant. In which case how do they converse with Sev? 
It's fairly absurd to imagine them constructing sentences and then 
delivering them backwards. But it's even more absurd to imagine 
them delivering those backwards-sentences in response to, but 
before, comments made by Sev.

Unless they are lying for some reason about progressing backwards-
thru-time. Which would be equally annoying. 

Bah! Harumph.