(urth) Tzadkiel's ship

[Jeff Wilson]

Mark Millman wrote:
> Dear Mr. Wilson:
> Heraldic art, as you're no doubt aware, is not remarkable for its
> subtlety. 

Rather, it is subtle about different things than non-heraldic 
illustration. The relative position of heraldic animals' body parts, for 
example, conveys considerable information, comparable with or greater 
than the appearance of the overall animal itself.

> It seems very likely that the sails are prominently
> featured, and in such a way that the result does not resemble a
> bottle-brush.  Whether or not they obscure the hull is another
> question; but it may not be a relevant one.
> 
> Recall also that the torturers' apprentices are relatively well
> educated, and that Severian possesses an unusually tenacious memory.
> By the time he encounters the tomb, or at least by the time from which
> he recounts the memory, he may well have seen, and having seen will
> remember, images of spacegoing ships.

But the Tzadkiel would be radically different in plan from other 
spacegoing ships. The statement that "there's only one Ship" would 
support this. The outer portion would more closely resemble the deck and 
masts of a seagoing ship, or rather several seagoing ships bundled with 
keels together.


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