And the maid comes back to life after the ritual beheading. If she was really beheaded, she would really have to be resurrected too. I don't think the text indicates real resurrection in this instance.<div><br></div>
<div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 12:39 AM, Jeff Wilson <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jwilson@io.com">jwilson@io.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div class="im">On 8/15/2010 10:59 PM, Lee Berman wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Jeff Wilson- the blade of execution is wood and tinsel.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Yes a thin wooden batten with lightweight tinsel.<br>
<br>
Yet when Severian first takes up the sword, "It was very heavy".<br>
<br>
When he lifted the sword, "I feared it would overbalance me".<br>
<br>
Using all his available strength, he sends the "false" blade down.<br>
For an instant it seemed to meet resistance then thudded into the<br>
block, which fell into two. The maid's head, all bloodied,<br>
tumbled forward..<br>
<br>
I used to think it was just Severian being drunk. Now...<br>
<br>
Well, there are certainly some theatrics going on. I just can't<br>
be sure which audience is being fooled. Would the guild really<br>
use fake blood from a wax head as their most sacred chrism? <br>
</blockquote>
<br></div>
There's no indication or reason that the *blood* is fake. It might be animal blood if no recently dispatched clients or willing donors were available at the time.<br>
<br>
Severian can't have been completely fooled into really beheading a person because he's supposed to turn the blade aside to *avoid* striking the maid, and he's not drunk because the feasting comes after. But the importance of the day is not to be underestimated in its effect on human perception; as I recall from my wedding day, that little ring was heavy like a barbell and slick as an eel.<br>
<font color="#888888">
<br>
-- <br>
Jeff Wilson - <a href="mailto:jwilson@io.com" target="_blank">jwilson@io.com</a><br>
IEEE Student Chapter Blog at<br>
< <a href="http://ieeetamut.org" target="_blank">http://ieeetamut.org</a> ></font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Best wishes,<br>Jack<br>
</div>