(urth) Is Agia a Robot?

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

I am reminded of some things Alan Moore said about _Watchmen_ when it
was first coming out.

The first thing he said was that everything in _Watchmen_ means something.

The second thing, upon seeing the detailed analysis being performed in
the fan press and especially on the Intartoobs, was "...but not
everything means _much_."

I suspect that we are often guilty of overanalyzing details in Wolfe's work.


On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 9:29 AM, David Stockhoff <dstockhoff at verizon.net> wrote:
> What's ridiculous?
>
> I always read this as a description of metal hitting stone, regardless of
> the explanation. Otherwise why did Wolfe essentially say, "The sound of her
> head hitting stone was like the sound of solid metal hitting stone"?
>
> Head = metal. Could one have a more obvious clue? Clue to what, exactly, is
> the only open question.
>
> Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:
>>
>> This is getting ridiculous.
>>
>> Agila must be human -- she has to be related to Severian -- after all,
>> he's sexually attracted to her...
>>
>> On Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 9:15 AM, Ryan Dunn <ryan at liftingfaces.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Yes. And he made a point to say it made this sound DESPITE her abundant
>>> head
>>> of hair.
>>>
>>> I just can't help but wonder, ESP when coupled with Agilus's second mask.
>>>
>>> Anywho.
>>>
>>> ...ryan
>>>
>>> On Jun 17, 2010, at 11:42 AM, brunians at brunians.org wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Have you ever heard someone fall down and hit their head?
>>>>
>>>> It does not sound like the description.
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> From: Ryan Dunn <ryan at liftingfaces.com>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So I was re-reading Shadow, and noticed something I had previously
>>>>>> written off...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "I slapped her wrist, perhaps harder than I should, and she flew at
>>>>>> me,
>>>>>> clawing for my eyes as
>>>>>> Thecla used sometimes to do when she could no longer bear the thoughts
>>>>>> of imprisonment and
>>>>>> pain. I pushed her away - not into a chair this time but against the
>>>>>> wall. Her head struck the
>>>>>> stone, and though it must have been padded by her abundant hair, the
>>>>>> sound was as sharp as
>>>>>> the tap of a mason's hammer."
>>>>>> (Shadow of the Torturer, Chap. 29, Agilus)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>          That last line. Her head hitting the stone. The tap of a
>>>>>> mason's hammer
>>>>>> would be very tinny and
>>>>>> unusual of a human skull, don't you think?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>          Am I reading into this line too much, or might this be a clue
>>>>>> as to the
>>>>>> nature of these odd twins and
>>>>>> their masks upon masks?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Interesting question, but it says the sound is as "sharp" as the tap of
>>>>> a
>>>>> mason's hammer, not that it sounds the same in all ways.  I took this
>>>>> to
>>>>> mean that the sound has a sudden attack and decay, since it's between
>>>>> two
>>>>> hard surfaces, despite the apparent padding.  It's horrifying.  But I
>>>>> don't see it as suggesting a metallic sound.
>>>>>
>>>>> Jerry Friedman
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>
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-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes