(urth) The Claw

[Larry Miller]

Alright so due to the discussion currently going on concerning the
fantastical/magical elements in the BotNS I figured I should post
this.  Ive had a theory about the Claw for a long time now and Im not
sure if this has ever been proposed before but I feel its relevant.
Some people view the Claw as miraculous and that falls squarely in
supernatural/magical territory (at least IMHO) but maybe its
mysterious workings can be explained in a scientific (or science
fictional) manner.  Ive always thought that the Claw can do what it
does through the warping of space-time around it because it is a
temporal anomaly itself.  We know that the Claw as a thorn was
annointed for lack of a better word with Severians blood at the end of
Citadel.  After traveling back to the Conciliators era it becomes the
Claw.  When Severian obtains the relic it still has his blood on it.
Now this same blood is still inside Severian as he hasnt been pricked
yet.  Now we know that two Severians cannot exist in the same point in
time and space (ala Apu Punchau-why there was no implosion when they
come into contact could just be that its not a whole other Severian
just a drop of his blood ) so I believe that this creates some kind of
anomalous effect around Severian.  This causes the Claw to warp time
back to the time when Dorcas was alive resurrecting her.