(urth) Boatman as Inire

[Lee Berman]

John Watkins- > I think you have this wrong.  Very wrong, in fact.  Briah is not the lower
>universe that the Hierogrammates escaped from.
 
So be it. We will have to disagree.
 
 
> Not "*must* be."  "*May* be."  The Hierogrammates are seeking to
>effectuate this future, and Severian apparently helps them to do so.  But it
>is not a necessary future, at least on Urth, as Master Ash confirms.
 
I hope this is not an intentional misunderstanding of my words for the sake of
argument. I say "must" because Master Ash winks out and Ushas and the Hierogrammates
exist. If we saw the Hierogrammates wink out and a Ragnarok Urth in Severian's 
time travels in UotNS, I'd say the reverse- averting Ushas was necessary for the creation 
of Ragnarok.
 
> There is also a trope of the "good" fallen angel--a higher being whose sin,
>as it were, is caring too much about the lowly humans it is charged with
>overseeing.
 
Oh I agree! I recently discussed this issue with someone...sorry I forget who it was.
Taking the example of Prometheus, the Olympians considered him evil. Humanity considered him
good. Take his cognate, Azazel/Tawsi Melek. Judeo-Christians consider him evil while the Yezidis
consider him good. Gabrus, the Celtic goat-god (cognate to Mercury) was a good guy for the
Western Europeans until the Christians from the east turned him into Satan.
 
Good fights against evil all through history; though which is which is a matter of opinion.
In the end it doesn't matter. Good and evil pagan gods and beliefs- all will be swept away as a
higher level of spirituality washes in to take their place. I think that's the message of BotNS.