(urth) First Exodus theory revised

[Gerry Quinn]

From: "António Pedro Marques" <entonio at gmail.com>
> Gerry Quinn wrote:
> > From: "António Pedro Marques" <entonio at gmail.com>

> >> I should again point out that regardless of Pas having been scanned
> >> from Typhon, all he is is a computer program. Pas is Typhon's tool and
> >> in all likelihood Typhon doesn't care one bit about Pas as long as Pas
> >> fulfills his role. He should care more about his heir(s), who is/are
> >> (a) real person(s). So Pas is there to serve Silk, not the opposite,
> >> and Silk is either a true heir or a tenant (for Typhon, not Pas).
>
> > Computer programs are real people in this story (and in most of Wolfe's
> > work).

> Not really. Robots are people, and you could *argue* that means the 
> software running them is people. But all over, 'real people' don't 
> consider robots 'real people'. Silk does because he's Silk. Typhon 
> doesn't.

I don't agree with you there.  Most people in Viron seem to consider both 
the gods and the chems real people.  Taluses probably less so, I suppose. 
Black mechanics may disagree, but they are few and are breaking the law.

Pas is the god of the chems.

I don't recall Typhon himself expressing any views on robots. In fact he 
treated some people (such as Piaton) as robots.  Maybe he treated almost 
everyone as robots, in fact - consider the whole possession technology for 
controlling them!  Mamelta tells us how everyone was wired up in a sort of 
always-on internet, with Typhon's family wandering through their heads. 
That is before some of them were forced abourd the Whorl and given brain 
operations.

- Gerry Quinn