<div dir="ltr">First, the question. In the final conversation, between Cassie and Klauser (which<br>really needs extended explanation), Cassie asks Klauser what to take on the trip<br>to Woldercan. He says, "Women have monthly needs. You could use rags, and<br>
our great-great-grandmothers did, but if you would prefer not to...". WTF? Who<br>talks like that? Why would an old man tell an old woman about menstruation and<br>the historic ways to deal with it?<br><br>Now, Cthulhuiana and spoilers (if I'm lucky). The two major male protagonists have<br>
multiple identities (Wallace Rosenquist/William Reis and Gideon Chase/Gil Corby)<br>but the names keep the same initials. If someone can have two identities, they<br>can have more. Since it's a Lovecraftian book, let's look there.<br>
<br>The first one is easy. Gideon Chase is the Great Cthulhu.<br><br>The second one is tougher. I can't be sure, but I'll go in order of descending likelihood.<br>I would like to thank my copy of _Encyclopedia Cthulhiana_, which comes in handy<br>
more often than you'd think.<br><br>1. "Black Ram with a Thousand Young". The male aspect of the Outer God<br>Shub-Niggurath. My favorite for plot purposes.<br><br>2. "Wza-y'ei Rhan-Tegoth" The first word is the start of the chant that summons<br>
Rhan-Tegoth, a Great Old One who came to Earth. It is said that the destruction of<br>Rhan-Tegoth would prevent the awakening of the Great Old Ones.<br><br>3. "Watery R'lyeh". Cthulhu's underwater city.<br>
<br>4. "Beyond Rigel". Rigel is a star that is associated with the Elder Gods,<br>enemies (more or less) of the Great Old Ones.<br><br>I like 1 best because it turns the whole story into infighting between the<br>
bad guys with Shub-Niggurath getting the U. S. Navy to nuke Cthulhu. Cassie<br>is just a pawn in this game and is going to get her just "reward" on Woldercan<br>from the Great C himself.<br><br>Enamel<br><br></div>