(urth) The Ship

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes]

H'mmmm.

It seems to me that Apu-Punchau's eclipse might well be local, even
more local than a solar eclipse normally is. In that case, a smaller
object than Lune will do.

Perhaps this is the arrival of the Megatherians? They are as big as
mountains and could cast such a shadow.

On Fri, Jan 6, 2012 at 9:36 AM, Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> This could be a could time to resurrect a discussion regarding Apu Punchau's
> miracle. I think the pertinent information we are given is:
>
>>Severian’s prolongation of the night, however, may leave less credulous minds
>>puzzling over the ways in which such a marvel might be achieved without a
>>cataclysm greater than that which accompanied the arrival of the New Sun...
>>Nothing Severian writes indicates what the opaque body may have been; but the
>>thoughtful reader will find little difficulty in advancing at least one plausible
>>speculation.
>
> In my first reading I took the "thoughtful reader" reference to be ironic, meaning
> very little thought is required to guess that the moon (or Lune, as it were) was
> used. This was in keeping with the trend of other Severian-produced clamities when
> he is troubled, like storms, earthquakes and ship blackouts, which seem associated
> with the Urth or other celestial bodies.
>
> I was surprised to learn from this board that others assume it is Tzadkiel's ship
> or perhaps B, F and O's smaller ship, come to deliver a black hole to the center of
> the old sun. The popularity of this theory is notable, but I have trouble with it
> for a number of reasons. Tzadkiel's ship doesn't seem to want to enter the solar
> system. B, F and O's ship isn't big enough. And the timing for either doesn't seem
> to be right. The black hole could either be a naturally occurring phenomenon or a
> punishment delivered during Typhon's time, but why bring it during this primitive
> time? Also, B, F and O don't arrive until a while later, after Severian has been
> Apu Punchau for a while and has been killed.
>
> You could stretch the time frame around using time travel or other explanations.
> But I still like the moon theory best. Partly because it seems the simplest and most
> direct interpretation from the text and partly because it better alludes to the
> eclipse in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
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-- 
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes