(urth) Undines

[Lee Berman]

>Jeff Wilson:  Or perhaps she survived through her gift of superhuman powers, similar 
>to her brother, Severian?
 
As Severian's powers of resurrection are an echo of his ability to resurrect the sun?
Hm, could be.
 
Brother Severian, eh? Well, the bizarre sexual attraction between Severian and Jururna
might suggest a family relationship between them. Some other connections also. But, as
has been mentioned in other threads, we don't have the proper kinship terms for beings
related by both sexual and asexual reproduction. Daughter-brides? Half-sisters? Khaibit?
I guess these are WOlfe's attempts to translate such terms.
 
 
>The undines claim to swim between the stars, presumably they could bear 
>some part of their masters with them, the parts small enough and manlike 
>enough to be able to have "lives" recorded...perhaps it's them that are 
>the Hierogrammates counterparts, or even literally their parts, exiled 
>from the larger bodies like the little Tzadkerbell at the Brook Madregot.
>Anyway, if they arrived as beans, presumably star-swimming undines could 
>carry them away as beans, they might use their mighty powers of mind to 
>command fliers to descend and take their spawn to nearby planets where 
>further ships await...
 
I like this general train of thought. There is something about the ubiquity
of Undines on Urth (and maybe the stuff going on in Blue's waters) which
suggests they might have a key role in transportation and genesis of 
megatherians.
 
I have always questioned if we should take their swimming between the stars
literally, though. Island sized Tzadkiel aside, swimming through the void seems
like a physics-defying task for a biological creature (can Inhumi realy do it, even
for their much shorter distance between planets?)
 
I think there might be some hints that undines ride on The Ship. We see one of them,
Idas, on the ship with Severian. Also, when Severian enters the ship stateroom of B, F
and O, he describes:
 
>I am tempted to write that it appeared to be underwater, but it did not. Rather we
>seemed immersed in some fluid that was not water, but was to some other world  what
>water was to Urth; or perhaps that we were underwater indeed, but water so cold it
>would have been frozen in any lake of the Commonwealth.
 
Severian goes on to waffle, saying it was all a trick of the light. He also goes on to 
suggest that their chambers suggest to B, F and O (not really O though) that the nature of 
their chambers suggests they were descended from creatures like kelpies.
 
A kelpie is a somewhat malevolent Celtic water horse creature which can take the form of
a woman to lure people to their death. It seems related to nixies, mermaids, sirens etc.,
thus establishing a possible link between hierodules and undines. Perhaps swimming between
the stars really involves splashing around a liquidy stateroom on Tzadkiel's ship?
 
On the other hand, Severian runs into an undine on Ushas who is pretty impressive in pointing
in the direction of superhuman dimensions. Perhaps they do swim between the stars using mastery
of time? Or are they on the ship? I dunno which explanation is best. 		 	   		  
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