(urth) Pike's ghost

[Gerry Quinn]

From: Andrew Mason 

> What can we know about Pike’s ghost? All Wolfe has explicitly said is
> that it isn’t Quetzal and it isn’t machine-generated, which leaves
> many possibilities. Elsewhere, though, he did say that he had put a
> ghost in one of his books to stop it being read simply as science
> fiction; and Pike’s ghost is the most likely candidate for this. So
> there is reason to think it’s a real ghost.

I think this is reasonably likely.  In its favour is the fact that the ghost was wearing Pike’s hat, which Silk had worn earlier that day in his expedition to Blood’s house.  Not that I’m an expert in the occult, but that seems a possible way to attract a ghost.  [Also, there is Blood’s genetic connection to Pike – hard to see how it fits in but I’ll set it down.]

My feeling, though, is that it’s not so much a ghost as a vision sent by the Outsider telling Silk he’s on the right track.  But of course, this is something that can be both.


> If we put these two things together, ghosts – spirits of the dead
> travelling in disembodied form – certainly seem to be possible; so
> Pike’s ghost in and of itself is not particularly puzzling. What is
> puzzling is his turning up at the same time as Mucor and a duplicate
> Oreb – a rather weird coincidence, if it is one.

I don’t see Mucor’s appearance as a real problem.  She is fascinated by Silk and is clearly following him since the exorcism.  Next day she appears twice in the tunnels.  She appears when Echidna possesses Marble, and nobody is saying that’s too much of a coincidence and Echidna must have brought her along.  Even if Echidna likes her (didn’t she say that sometime?)


Oreb is the tricky one.  Silk comes up with an explanation that is at least rational but nobody believes (maybe that’s a hint from Wolfe that the ghost is real).  I’m not convinced by your idea that Mucor gives others special powers – I don’t remember any instances of it.

Assuming Silk saw a flying bird, the best explanation I can think of is that Mucor possessed a bird in order to search for Silk (it’s the first time she comes to him), but that also seems to lack justification elsewhere.  It’s also possible, I think, that Silk caught a glimpse of Pike’s ghost (whatever it was) and imagined the bird.  That also reduces the coincidence factor.

- Gerry Quinn
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