<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jul 15, 2008 at 10:12 PM, David Duffy <<a href="mailto:David.Duffy@qimr.edu.au">David.Duffy@qimr.edu.au</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;">
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No, I think they are a step higher in the hierarchy of the great chain of being(s), ie they are of the order of angels/planets/spirits in the medieval worldview. </blockquote><div><br>Planets?! I'm sorry, I have no idea what on Urth that means.<br>
<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">So why do Abaia and Erebus require subjugation of the humans of Urth when as Severian says, they could eradicate humankind in a day?</blockquote>
<div><br>I imagine that, much like Typhon (from whom they may be descended if Scylla of BotNS is Scylla of BotLS), it's because they want slaves and worshipers rather than dead bodies. Perfectly comprehensible.<br><br>
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One of the ways I see BotNS is as a dialogue with Frank Herbert in _Dune_</blockquote><div><br>You can think whatever you wish, the more important part is whether you can provide evidence that it's true.<br><br>While you're mentioning Dune, don't forget that Paul and Leto II's similar powers of imperfect foresight caused them no little moral agony, and Leto's course of action (which Paul didn't take because he thought it too horrible) was roundly condemned by almost all of his human contemporaries, and even Leto himself agreed with its injustice.<br>
It's entirely possible that what the Hierogrammates did to Urth was good in the end, but that doesn't justify the way they did it.<br><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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Cheers, David.</blockquote><div><br>Paul <br></div></div>
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