(urth) AEG: Mice and Cattle
James Wynn
crushtv at gmail.com
Thu Oct 8 16:51:08 PDT 2009
What I know. What I know I don't know. What I think I might know. Perhaps
this seems like basic stuff to everyone else, but I've had to reconsider
what I thought to be the plot twice already.
On [page 260 -261] we learn that The Storm King has been on Earth for a
million years or more. We know this because he has been around before humans
(although this is the humans' planet) not his. In the interim, many other
aliens have come to Earth. But they don't reveal themselves to humans. In
fact, they impersonate humans to keep it all on the down low. Apparently,
they do this by order of the Storm King. We are not told exactly why he
commands this. [SUPPOSITION is to prevent humanity from being able to rise
against him.] These aliens are not Woldercanlings. Woldercan is the only
planet Earthlings have found with intelligent life. But they are not the
only intelligent beings that have found EARTH.
In addition, [page 262] there are humans --drawn from California pagans and
Satanists-- who are directly allied to Storm King. Also, there are humans
working with competing Federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Alcohol
Tabacco and Firearms (ATF - Arthur Thomas Franklin).
It's not clear what the government knows or thinks it knows about Ries. The
President think Ries is spying for Woldercan. John Ferguson (FBI Director)
does not [p 18-19]. Presumably, he prefers to think Ries is spying for the
Storm King. Of course the President might be lying; he tends to be more
inclined to hold information back than John does. Reis is a man whose
identity is apparently being assumed by at least two men simultaneously, but
John implies there are three [p 15].
Copies and mirrors: Chase makes copies of Reis and tears up the original [p
21]. Chase enters Cassie's apartment through a hole in her wall from an
apartment that "mirrors" her own [p 76]. When Cassie boards Pavlatos's boat,
she is surrounded by mirrors and paintings of Madame Pavlatos [p 289].
What is the deal with the Volcano God play? I have no idea what its tactical
purpose was. Just for Cassie? I'm not buying that. Why not get her into the
movies (tri-vid) instead? The ATF went out of its way to assassinate one of
the actors. How many cast members are not human; hiding out as "actors" just
as Gideon Chase did? When Cassie meets the *real* Volcano God, he looks just
like Vince Palma: the actor who played the Volcano God. Possible hint: After
Cassie psychically merges with the modified human woman, Cassie says she
"played" her once.
There are werewolves in this story, but it is not clear to me whether they
are Wolderconlings or one of the other aliens. Just because Woldercan has
perfected the ability to change, does not mean others have not succeeded in
the same technology (remember Pat Gomez).
In addition, we have Gideon Chase who works for anyone. He supposedly left
Woldercon as a child, but he knows a lot of Woldercon tricks, leading me to
believe he is a changeling. He was able to heal the child of a rich woman
(probably Pavlatos) of some indeterminate disease. Maybe he healed him, but
maybe he just replaced him!
As the time-travel scenarios have become more and more nailed down, I like
them less and less. I think clones are more likely but I don't think this is
that sort of story. I think this is a spy novel where everyone is wearing a
mask. But I'm not certain Wolfe has provided the clues to peer behind those
masks. I once said that Wolfe would never be more than a "writer's writer"
until he published a Silmarillion of the New Sun. Even more than those
others, this novel feels only the first half of a novel. It's "Murder on the
Orient Express" without the last chapters where Hercule Poirot puts the
evidence together into the various possible scenarios. It's too bad, because
I think this is a really cool world Wolfe has created and I'd like to know
more about it.
J.
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