(urth) Questions about BNS

[Jeff Wilson]

Adam Thornton wrote:
> 
> On Nov 14, 2007, at 1:26 PM, Eric Ortlund wrote:
>>
>> 2) When Severian and Agia are in the Jungle Garden, the apparently 
>> travel in time and space (the story about Father Inire's mirrors 
>> apparently prepares the reader for this) to a missionary couple in the 
>> jungle.  Can someone please explain to me what on earth the native is 
>> talking about on pg. 131?  The woman in the couple reads from 
>> Deuteronomy 34 - about Moses looking into the promised land but not 
>> being able to enter it
>>
> This would be Severian and the Urth of the New Sun, is my reading.  In 
> addition to being a Christ figure he's a Mosaic figure--he brings his 
> world to salvation but does not himself get to enter the New World.

Doesn't he? If the people who worship The Sleeper aren't on Briah, where 
are they?

>> 3) What about the vision Dorcas and Severian see when they're leaving 
>> Nessus of the huge palace (pg 181)?  What is it of?  I vaguely 
>> remember that the conversation which Severian has with the woman who 
>> gives him tea at the fair in Saltus might hint that it is somehow 
>> identified with the tent of the Pelerines.  Is that on the right track?
>>
> As I recall, the tent of the Pelerines rising like a hot air balloon as 
> it burns.  But I might be misremembering, because that doesn't sound 
> plausible.

Their "tent" is more like a circus big-top made from advanced fabric 
that resists combustion and may be somewhat metallic in appearance as it 
resembles other buildings in the citadel which include rocket ships in 
their number. If nothing else, the straw covering the ground inside it 
would be a ready source of hot air when burned. It probably wouldn't be 
stable and could roll over and deflate at any moment, giving the 
appearance that it disappeared in a shower of sparks.


-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
< http://www.io.com/~jwilson >