Sure, I'll take a quick stab at this, being of the aforementioned "Hierogrammates are not as good as they seem" persuasion. They admit to wanting to condition humanity to become the Hieros. This conditioning can come in all sorts of forms, and the spiritual is certainly not to be discounted given how secular Urth is. My contention is that they need a mystical account of what they've done to Urth for it to matter, like a certain other flood, for which they recruit the mostly unwitting Severian to act as a mystic and write The Book of the New Sun as a mystical testament to what otherwise would be a pretty secular and unpleasant occurrence.<br>
<br>Don't forget that Urth isn't the only human-inhabited planet, and as the Anchorite mentions if they wanted to save the population there were less murderous ways to do it - planetary evacuation in Ragnarok scenario. I believe this suggests that they instead wanted to do something else to the population, and Severian's mystical roles as Apu Punchau, the Conciliator, and the Sleeper may well have something to do with it. I see him as a social engineering tool.<br>
<br>Curious about others' opinions though, myself.<br><br>Paul<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 10:50 AM, O'Donnell, Tim (BOSI) <<a href="mailto:Tim.O%27Donnell@bankofscotland.ie">Tim.O'Donnell@bankofscotland.ie</a>> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">Hi,<br>
<br>
Tim here, read the solar cycle there for the first time about 6 months ago and have re-read a few times since while working through the archives.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">I am almost up to real-time in the archives (thank God) but when I saw the post below I figured it was time to wade in.</font>
<br>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">For all those who think that the Hieros were in some way evil and wanted to destroy Urth I have one question; why did they need Severian?</font></p>
<br>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">The idea of bad guys who are evil enough to kill millions but polite enough to ask permission first kind of amuses me. </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">If the honest intention of the hieros had been to destroy Urth for purposes other than those stated I think they would have just done it.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">Looking forward to many a discussion!<br>
Tim</font>
</p>
<br>
<p><font face="Times New Roman">On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:38:33 +1000 "Roy C. Lackey" <<u></u></font><u><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman">rclackey at <a href="http://stic.net" target="_blank">stic.net</a> <<a href="http://lists.urth.net/listinfo.cgi/urth-urth.net" target="_blank">http://lists.urth.net/listinfo.cgi/urth-urth.net</a>></font></u><font face="Times New Roman">> wrote: </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">I still don't get the destruction of Urth as a punishment. </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">According to the Hiero-dude-ish propaganda, the punishment has </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">already happened - humanity beaten back down to a primitive state </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">and barred from the worlds (at least on Urth), and (presumably) the </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">sun deliberately wounded to keep Urth-humanity down. Sev is </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">supposed to be an "epitome" who may bring the punishment to an </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">*end*. If he succeeds, a New Sun will come, and humanity will </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">flourish once again, and be allowed back into space. </font>
</p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">This propaganda runs in various forms all the way from the official </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">New Sun dogma of Sev's youth, through eidolon-Malrubius' </font>
<br><font face="Courier New" size="2">revelations to him, to the gates of Yesod.</font>
</p>
<p><font face="Courier New" size="2">[...]</font>
</p>
<pre>************************************************************************************************
Find out more about us at <a href="http://www.bankofscotland.ie" target="_blank">www.bankofscotland.ie</a> <<a href="http://www.bankofscotland.ie" target="_blank">http://www.bankofscotland.ie</a>>
The information contained in this message is confidential and is intended for the addressee only. If you have received this message in error or there are any problems please notify the originator immediately. The unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or alteration of this message is strictly forbidden. This mail and any attachments have been scanned for viruses prior to leaving Bank of Scotland Ireland's network.
Bank of Scotland Ireland will not be liable for direct, special, indirect or consequential damages arising from alteration of the contents of this message by a third party or as a result of any virus being passed on. Bank of Scotland (Ireland) reserves the right to monitor and record e-mail messages sent to and from this address for the purposes of investigating or detecting any unauthorised use of its system and ensuring its effective operation.
Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited is part of HBOS plc and is regulated by the Financial Regulator. Registered in Ireland Number: 8454. Registered office: Bank of Scotland House, 124-127 St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2
****************************************************************************************************
</pre></div>
<br>_______________________________________________<br>
Urth Mailing List<br>
To post, write <a href="mailto:urth@urth.net">urth@urth.net</a><br>
Subscription/information: <a href="http://www.urth.net" target="_blank">http://www.urth.net</a><br></blockquote></div><br>