(urth) Father Inire Theory cont.

[Lee Berman]

In the past I've discussed my Father Inire theory in terms of all the possibilities of
versions of him and his relevance to Severian's family tree so I'll skip over that for now
I'll mention that, of course, there have to be signs...marks of the beast sort of? to be able
to identify these Father Inire minions. We know the monkey business and the bent, old stuff.
Among other things I'd add "interest in resurrection of the dead" to the list. Borski argues
for obscured eyes as one of the signs and I won't gainsay him.

If we take the last two it puts an interesting figure on the list for consideration: Ultan.
This is a pretty revered figure I think. And what's not to like? He's nice, he's a librarian
he's got the J.L. Borges connection going. But, with my Father Inire theory in mind, Wolfe
puts some weird stuff in regarding Ultan that really made me wonder if they wanted to name that
website after him.

1. Ultan is a curator which automatically associates him with Father Inire, who may not be the
most wholesome character to associate with.

2. Ultan's assistant, Cyby carries a five-branched candlestick which could hint at the occult
symbol of the pentagram with a candle at each point.

3. Ultan says that on the Feast Day, their guild marches down "Iubar Street" conspicuously mentioning
the name twice. Iubar is a Latin word invoking radiant light, a splendid, glorious appearance,
the morning star, and the chemical phosphorus. All these are directly related to Lucifer.

4. Ultan mentions books bound in the hides of echidnes and krakens. This could mean spiny anteater
and giant squid skins. But any mention in this story of a giant sea monster and the Mother of All
Monsters/wife of Typhon raises a red flag for me.

5. Ultan describes the entry process to their guild: A child perusing books in the Library long enough
eventually finds The Book of Gold. "Then the librarians come, like vampires, some say, but others say
like the fairy godparents at a christening. They speak to the child and the child joins them....soon
his parents know him no more." Legends have both fairies and demons involved in such child snatchings.

6. Ultan is especially familiar with the book Lives of the Seventeen Megatherians as well as Wonders Of
Urth and Sky. Both books seem to deal with the monsters in the sea and their origins.

7. When Severian speaks to Ultan of eating the dead, he replies, "It is unwise to know too much about
these practices, though when I think of sharing the mind of a historian like Loman or Hermas...".
Severian thinks Ultan must have forgotten, "how nakedly our faces can betray our deepest feelings..by
the light of the candles I saw his twisted in such an agony of desire that out of decency I turned away".

One or two of these elements I wouldn't notice as significant. All seven added together...sorta creepy.
Did Wolfe put them all in without purpose?

FWIW, in a recent search I chanced upon this, the wording and ritual for conducting Black Mass. Also pretty
creepy in a similar way to Master Ultan's issues, for me. http://www.angelfire.com/in4/cotf_indianapolis/rituals2.html