(urth) Lives of the Great Beasts
Gerry Quinn
gerryq at indigo.ie
Sat Jul 3 12:51:30 PDT 2010
From: "Lee Berman" <severiansola at hotmail.com>
>>Jonas tells Severian that they were brought to Earth, possibly in the
>>zoetic tower, to replace the extinct fauna.
>
> I don't remember this. Is it in reference to megatherians? My vague memory
> is that might refer to creatures like the alzabo; but that could surely be
> faulty.
I don't think so eitrher. The alzabo was brought to Urth "as many other
things,for the use and benefit of Man" [quoting from memory]. All I know of
the undersea monsters, if they are indeed the Megatherians, of which I am
not certain, is the story of the beans.
I assume this beans story to have some basis in truth, but it may be
historically twisted or even metaphorical. Hmm... could Erebus/Abaia be
some kind of feminist revenge on the race of Men, as the story might
suggest? Their only acolyhes we meet are female, and we are not really told
the gender of the giant monsters, even if we tend to assume them male. [Nor
are any serious hints given about their sexual proclivities, but after the
Wizard Knight, I am inclined to feel that this may be for the best.]
- Gerry Quinn
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