(urth) Resurrections

[Jeff Wilson]

On 7/31/2010 12:52 PM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 31, 2010 at 2:41 AM, Jeff Wilson<jwilson at io.com>  wrote:
>
>> Whatever "they" are, I don't think they are meant to have a truly objective
>> identity and feelings apart from Severian, any more than the aquastors have
>> from their Yesodi controllers. Maybe an eidolon, which has to be
>> reconstructed with as perfect fidelity to the original as possible, would
>> count as "an" objective person, if not the same objective person.
>
> Actually I suspect that Severian is supposed to be an exception to the
> general principle you laid down (and I agree with). Through his Magic
> Resurrection Ability, Thecla at least lives again in him. I'm not so
> sure about the prior Autarchs.

The old Autarch does claim he will live, and re-reading reveals his 
mention of cells that will take up residence in Severian's body. So 
technically, some living tissue may survive though the mandrake in the 
Autarch's Citadel quarters disagrees that constitutes life.

There are said to be hundreds of personalities, but a thousand years is 
not really long enough for that many Autarchs. The old leech says that 
many men of learning use the alzabo extract, and "confine ourselves to 
the most retentive tissues."  The old Autarch says "The drug is in the 
vial I wear at my neck, and that blade will split the bones of my skull 
like pine. I have had occasion to use it, and I promise it."

So the Autarchs may have occasion to use the analeptic to add other 
minds to theirs outside the line of succession. It would seem the ideal 
way to interrogate a subject whose debrief must be absolutely reliable 
or may involve complex and nuanced answers, but the time to recover from 
use of the drug would make it difficult to schedule. Still, I don't 
think it is something that would go on if the subjects literally lived 
on in the host, with significant volition and initiative. Sev records 
Thecla acting in his absence, but that still remains but a single will 
even if it is confused about which set of memories it should act on.

-- 
Jeff Wilson - jwilson at io.com
IEEE Student Chapter Blog at
< http://ieeetamut.org >