(urth) Damn filthy Hiero-wasp-creatures

[Jeff Wilson]

Roy C. Lackey wrote:
> Andrew wrote:
>> One of his functions no doubt is to take the burden of guilt for
>> the coming destruction away from the Hiero-dudes. As T says in his
>> parting words, Urth will be destroyed at *Sev's* command - not T's.
> 
> And just before saying that, Tzadkiel said, "The death agonies of the world
> you know will be offered to the Increate. [. . .] Much that is beautiful
> will perish, and with it most of your race; but your home will be reborn."
> (153) And that seems to be the point of it all. Bad-ol'-Man needed to be
> slapped down -- again. That's how the god-game works. Sacrifice in an
> attempt to placate a wrathful god, a conciliation made by a conciliator.
> Only Sev isn't the one who had to pay the price, no matter how bad he said
> he felt about it all after the fact. After all, torturers are famous for
> their sympathetic qualities.

But Severian is also the Autarch, the Epitome of Urth - so it's a 
willing, self-sacrifice as far as that goes. (Severian survives, but is 
no longer Autarch or epitome of anything.)

Or not. All of this, with the "higher" creatures knowing no better the 
Increate's wishes, and with "evil" men actually serving the greater good 
by their parts in the Increate's plan - it makes a pretty good case for 
moral relativism.

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