(urth) The Wizard

[Jerry Friedman]

>From: Gerry Quinn <gerry at bindweed.com>
>From: Lee Berman 
>Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 6:33 PM
...
 
>> I don't find it confusing. The biggest hint I find is that The Outsider
>> is a dark god. Darkness defines Him. I assume Jesus in that universe was
>> a dark, Outsider prophet, like Severian. Thus both were shown to Silk.
> 
>Is the Outsider described as dark in the universe in general – or just in the sub-universe known as the Whorl?

Or just from the point of view of characters in the Whorl, who associate him with space?
 
For that matter, could someone remind me of where the Outsider is described as a dark god?  I found the point at the end of /Nightside/ where Silk wonders whether the Outsider might be "good in a dark way", as Auk might become, but in that scene Silk is confused.  For instance, he's just wondered whether Mucor drank Teasel's blood.  I don't think we need to take his wonderings there as "gospel".  Is there another point where the Outsider is specifically called that?
 
>It’s dark outside the Whorl (though when Wolfe describes space he never fails to mention light as well, coming from the stars, and once from the sun of Blue/Green).  But in the literal exodus, it is into this very darkness that they must flee in order to survive.  The significance of darkness in this story from the Whorl is very different from the significance of darkness in stories from our world.
...
 
I believe one could make a case from the Christian point of view that God is good in a dark way, since he kills lots of people and condemns people to eternal torment.  I hope the Christians here will correct me if I'm wrong, but I can see Wolfe believing that God, who created space and the stars, is good in every way, including the dark way.
 
Jerry Friedman