(urth) Babbiehorn?: Was: a sincere question mostly for roy

[David Stockhoff]

On 11/18/2011 9:42 AM, Gerry Quinn wrote:
> *From:* David Stockhoff <mailto:dstockhoff at verizon.net>
> > In this case, the Rajan may simply have been happy to be home again, 
> and
> >
> saw the hat and wondered what he might look like in it after so much
> >
> time and change.
> I agree – it’s a reasonable explanation for the hat *if* we think it’s 
> reasonable that Pike is a time-travelling Rajan, which I still don’t.

So let's agree that main objection to a time-traveling Rajan is not the 
presence of a hat, but the time-traveling Rajan himself. That is, the 
theory rests on demonstration of time-traveling, not on motives for 
wearing a hat. Which therefore are irrelevant, unless the hat can be 
shown to be a primary motivation for his time traveling, in which case 
it still doesn't touch on the basic possibility.
>
> >
> I think Silk = Typhon is one such simple starting point that the reason
> >
> we find it hard to see is that it has been written over by all the
> >
> subsequent development. But rather than being a Deep Meaning, I think
> >
> these templates are the least important parts of the story, if only
> >
> because they are universal. Silk's identity is important to Wolfe but
> >
> not to the reader, so he leaves it covered by all his secondary and
> >
> tertiary construction.
> That makes sense to me also. [In the general sense, not specifically 
> about Silk as Typhon which I can see the logic of – this is how Typhon 
> intends to come to Blue - but am not committed to.]

Now that's an idea. Do you think Typhon did all this to get his genes to 
Blue/Green? For any reason beyond mere ego and the fact that he could?

I can certainly see him wanting to "lead his people" to another world. 
Also, though whatever historical "change of heart" he had (see past 
discussion on the library at Nessus) does not seem to have made him less 
satanic when he meets Severian, it does seem that his "descendant" Pas 
is more benevolent father than brutal conqueror.