(urth) Father Inire: teratoid

[DAVID STOCKHOFF]

Now you're cooking, Lee. Yes, I can see demonic characters on each panel. And I can see a little red horned head, too. 
Severian, I'm quite sure, would not recognize Dat Ol Debbil if he poked him in the ass with a pitchfork, any more than he would know Santa Claus.

--- On Wed, 12/15/10, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>
Subject: (urth) Father Inire: teratoid
To: urth at lists.urth.net
Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2010, 2:02 PM



>Gerry Quinn- It may just be alienese for 'quantum reflector' or whatever the proper term 
>for the mirrors is.That the sign seems teratoid to Severian may not reflect its true meaning, 
>even if it is intended as a hint to the reader that monsters can lurk in mirrors.  Then again he 
>associates the symbol with cacogens, whom he thinks of - at least at this time - as monsters.
>An actual meaning of 'monsters' seems a bit unlikely, especially engraved on 
>every panel.
 
Since this entire story is from Severian's point of view, we can only discern meaning based on what
he understands and what we think he doesn't understand but we do. He wrote BotNS as an experienced,
knowledgeable Autarch. We are often left unclear whether he is reporting his later interpretations of 
things as this knowledegable ruler or his interpretation of events as they happened to him as a 
young Torturers journeyman.
 
I'd guess the symbols were put on the panels by their maker. If I had to guess who made them I'd guess
Father Inire and they serve as a maker's mark. If Severian chooses to call these symbols "teratoid" it 
might be that he understands Father Inire better than we think or know.                           
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