(urth) FW: May 2014 Wolfe interview in _Technology Review_

[Lee]

>Gerry Quinn: I meant the Shadow Children and the Hillmen/Marschmen, which would - 
>whatever their origin - appear to nowadays have the characteristics of 
>different races if not different species...that species 
>would appear to have acquired the ability to further speciate.


Yes, though it should be noted such "speciation" is just an imitation of it. A 

faking of millions of years of evolution accomplished in a short amount of time, 

just as other features of humanity are faked.


As I previously mentioned, our definition of "species" ceases to have real meaning

when dealing with beings who can change their shape and even fail to maintain 

individual organism status.


The question for you remains- What did Abos look like before humans arrived in the

system?


>And the drug-plant they talk about - a pre-determined cover story? Do 
>all Shadow Children chew it, just in case a curious 'Shadowfriend' is 
>unconvinced by the basic storyline?


What I see made clear is that the "cover story", the lies which augment the disguise,

are not just for the benefit of "Shadowfriends". Self-delusion is necessary for the

most complete and convincing disguise.


Do Shadow Children know they are poor imitations of crashlanded humans? No. Only

The Old Wise One has a glimmer of memory of it. Do the Abos, like Victor, know 

they have killed and taken the place of humans? No. Victor clearly believes most

of what he writes in Marsch's journal. He does, at this point, truly think he is

Marsch.


When Victor reaches points in his story which threaten to reveal the unpleasant

truth that he is an Abo, what does he do? He lies or invents cover stories, in

imitation of what humans do when faced with unpleasant truths about themselves.


Or, as an alternative, just run away, as we see Marsch do when Number Five confronts

him with his true Abo nature.


>Of course there may well be abos even on Sainte Croix - I believe there 
>is a hint of this in No. 5's comment about a "planetary face" which is 
>not found among the "gypsies and criminal tribes". (There's no direct 
>suggestion that Marsch looks like them, though.)


But Marsch/Victor does run away when confronted by this truth, as just mentioned.


It doesn't take long for Marsch to be killed and replaced. I suspect all humans on 

Ste Anne and Ste Croix have been similarly replaced (except Number Five who lives

cloistered and protected in his clone castle).


>I believe you misunderstand the reference.  The series of clones create 
>their own environment, and consequently stabilise into a solution that 
>does not change with time.


I do not misunderstand. This is exactly what Marsch/Victor tells Number Five, trying

to explain to him why his cloning experiments don't work; why he doesn't advance.


I am saying it is ironic because Marsch/Victor is telling Number Five exactly how the 

native imitative species have managed to duplicate humans almost perfectly, Abos and

Shadow Children being the earlier approximations.



>Who is doing the measuring?


Gene Wolfe and certain members of his audience who see it.


>Also, according to your theory, Marsch is surely a very poor example!  
>He would be a second-generation type incapable of properly holding a 
>pen,


Incorrect. Marsch is the replacement for an Abo, making him the third-generation type.

As is made clear, even the third generation type, while they can use a pen- a very fine

motor skill no other animal can approach, they cannot use one with the precision of a 

true human.


>I point out only that another view can be put forward in which much less 
>of what we are told needs to be discarded as misinformation.


I understand the bias of wanting to think as much possible of what we see written in a story

is truthful.


But when given a narrator who is demonstrated as an unreliable liar trying to hide dark secrets,

the opposite bias must come into play.