(urth) the prime calcula/his citadel and other quotes

[James Wynn]

On 1/18/2011 9:53 PM, António Pedro Marques wrote:
> (Yeah, we all got let down when GW struck out that paragraph in ExLS 
> 'Many have come to us asking whether Patera Silk was Great Pas 
> himself. Though both had blond hair, and maybe some similar features, 
> Patera Silk's nose was a bit thinner than Great Pas's, and his 
> cheekbones higher. His eyes, too, were wider apart, and the ears not 
> so round. Where Great Pas's hair has great curls, Patera Silk's was 
> straighter'. Certainly, without such a piece of evidence, the default 
> conclusion is that Silk was Typhon's clone.) Such brouhaha surrouding 
> Silk and nobody thought of saying he was Pas incarnate? Because he 
> missed a drooling head to the side? 

But they DID didn't they? You're quote here SAYS so.

Man, we are not going to come to an agreement this. Of all the quotes to 
pull. As I read this post I thought, "Is Antonio serious?"

It's the perfect example of the dividing line between me and, say, Roy. 
When I first read this , it was the final confirmation that Silk was a 
clone of Typhon. If I hadn't already sussed it, I would have asked 
myself, "Well, since Silk and and Pas are not the same, why do 'many' 
think they are?" This is the way Wolfe has his first person narrators 
reveal things.

Silk's nose is a little thinner and his ears are not so round? His eyes 
are a little wider apart and his hair is a little less curly? For Horn, 
who has no understanding of cloning/the variations in twins or that 
Scylla was once a normal looking little girl, these are all significant 
arguments. But not for the reader who --if he hasn't recognized it 
already-- is expected to recognize now.

But if you see this and say "Oh. Looks like Wolfe is telling use Silk 
doesn't look like Pas" then I can't help you. You will never have 
problem figuring out Wolfe's books because when some expert denies 
something that is obviously so or gives an explanation that that only 
creates more questions, you'll feel that he has given you the ANSWER. 
For example, when Silk ponders for 3 pages why it was that he called 
Blood "son", all the trivial explanations he comes up with will satisfy 
you.

Obviously, one can enjoy Wolfe on that level. I'm happy for you. I'm 
different. When the guy on the medicine wagon smiles and winks at me, I 
know he doesn't just have something in his eye.

u+16b9