(urth) Is Agia a Robot?

[Jerry Friedman]

From: António Pedro Marques <entonio at gmail.com>


> I just find that Agia is the single most important character in the whole story

Second most important? :-)

> and precious little is known about
> her. Maybe Wolfe's hints are not in the sense of her being a robot, but something else - though just what I can't > guess.

> - She is there almost from the beginning until the end - even as Severian becomes Autarch, she becomes the
> Autarch's antagonist, seemingly out of nothing - what's she got to do with the Vodelarii??

As people have pointed out, she's good at getting people to do what she wants, and she controls Hethor, who controls the monsters.

I think part of the point may be that for Severian to play his role, he needs supernatural powers and help, but the antagonist to all that is most fully human, unscrupulousness and hatred will go a long way.  Plus some mirrors.

> - Compare Agia's omnipresence to Thecla's, who Severian is always mentioning, yet barely appears in the
> story in person - by contrast, Agia has a will of her own to remain relevant.

Well, Thecla appears in another way.

> - Why the obsession with Severian? He killed her brother/lover, ok, but it's not like it was undeserved, and he
> did it merely as an instrument of Law - not to mention that A&A went to great lengths to entrap Severian before
> he did anything -

I don't think law or morality has anything to do with her feelings, and I think her anger has something to do with Severian's failure to die (a point Agilus brought up).  It may also have to do with his ability to resist her efforts to change his mind.  And after Agilus dies, what does she have but revenge?

> can anyone believe that the twins' usual business was killing unwary travellers in avern duels?

Their instant scheme is very striking.  Maybe we should imagine that, with lots of time on their hands since their shop isn't busy, they've talked about what to do if someone brings something valuable in.

This is a stereotype of crime fiction, I think--the grasping, ruthless character ready with a deception at a moment's notice.  It's more understandable among those who possess "the hopeful, hopeless courage of the poor" (/SotT/, Ch. XIX).

> The fact is that Agia's whole purpose from beginning to end seems to be to work as an antagonist to Severian.
> To me this suggests that the character is much more important and mysterious that it seems at first sight, and
> that the oddities about her beg for some grand explanation. Iow, I don't think the odd hints point to her being a
> robot, but rather to something much more extraordinary (whether part of it is being a robot or not, and bearing
> in mind that pretty much everything in Wolfe's books is extraordinary, both in etymological and pedestrian
> sense).

As I said, I don't agree.

Incidentally, if she is a sex robot or a genetically engineered doxy or some such, it's remarkable that she'd be eking out a living from the costume shop.  I suppose if she's an assassin, the shop could be her cover.

> Just what, I have absokutely no idea at all. I certainly don't think she's the Devil, she's not that powerful.

Okay, we agree on that.

Jerry Friedman