(urth) The Apu-Punchau Eclipse

[Dave Tallman]

b sharp wrote:

> I feel the need to tout my interpretation of the eclipse again.  By having Severian himself
>
> (subconsciously) cause the eclipse, the multiple problems of a ship-caused eclipse are
> eliminated. It addresses Roy C. Lackey's observation that the eclipse ended much more quickly
> than a natural eclipse.
>
>
Severian went back several years before the time when the light of the White
Fountain would reach Urth. His power was weakened; we know he couldn't
time-travel, though he could do minor healings. I don't think he had enough
power to pull off a lunar eclipse. He wasn't even thinking of doing such a
thing at the time.

I haven't heard any explanation for why the Hiero-dudes on a cosmic
mission would bother
>
> parking their vehicle in an exact spot for an exact time period to perform the useless task of
> saving Severian's life, when he will be killed again soon and can't actually BE killed.
>
>
He could be killed if he died then, so long before the White Fountain's
light that he "lost all count of years" (Urth L). By the time the light
reached him his body would be nothing but bones. There would be no revival.
To decode what happened we need to trace a historical rewrite.

1) The Hierogrammates find that Sev has disappeared. He is no longer
available to help build the new Ushas, or supply his genes to new
generations. This is a catastrophe for their plans.

2) They investigate and eventually question Joturna, finding out that Sev
has gone into the past.

3) They know the outer limits of the time range he could get to. "Flying his
time, he runs til he must halt; then halts he here because he cannot run."
(Urth L).

4) They comb history for anomalies until they find the sudden use of Inca
arches. (Sev made a building with arches before he died, and taught the
hetmen how). (Urth XLIX).

5) They realize Sev needs a miracle to stay alive until the White Fountain
light will let him return to the future.

6) They stage the eclipse.

Next stage: history develops with the legend of Apu-Punchau. He is strangled
by his people when he attempts to leave, but the light of the White Fountain
allows him to revive and stay with them. Millenia later, Hildegrin learns of
Apu-Punchau and enlists witches to bring him back. Sev is involved and the
merge happens. The Hierogrammates learn of this incident and figure it out;
this is a new disaster that must be fixed to prevent the loss of Sev.  F, B,
and O go back to that time and split off a new eidolon. Problem solved.

With the early knowledge of who Apu-Punchau is, the investigation is simpler
when Sev disappears from Ushas. But they still must stage the eclipse.
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