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<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=danldo@gmail.com
href="mailto:danldo@gmail.com">Dan'l Danehy-Oakes</A> </DIV></DIV></DIV>
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Once again.<BR></DIV>
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is far enough in the future that mountains containing the ruins<BR></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">of
long-buried cities have risen. This is not on the order of 20 or 30<BR></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">thousand
years; it is millions.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Indeed,
I know about that and other matters. I think Severian (or am I imagining
it?) may even suggest somehere that Urth’s core has cooled and geological
acivity has slowed or stopped. At face value this suggests hundreds of
millions of years. One could always hypothesise that this is the result of
a sometime ruinous reliance on geothermal technologies. Then again, one
could argue that Severian’s understanding of mining is scanty. Or that
some technological process has resulted in the generation of new
mountains.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; TEXT-DECORATION: ">Human
evolution seems consistent with anything up to a few million years. And
again, we can always postulate technological interventions, perhaps at many
times. </DIV></DIV>
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style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; TEXT-DECORATION: "> </DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">And
yet, there is other evidence suggesting a much earlier timeframe. Even the
flimsy records from Urth’s past make it *feel* like only about 50000-100000
years at most. That is why I say it is contradictory. At least, so
it seems to me; perhaps I am putting too much stress on these matters compared
to the more concrete statements you mention. One can apply similar
objections to these things: records stored digitally need never fade, and the
Hierodules have time travel anyway.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Vance’s
Dying Earth is an influence, but the sun of Urth is not dying a natural death,
so its condition tells us nothing.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> </DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">Lune
has come closer to Urth. That’s wrong from a current perspective: the Moon
should move further away as time goes on, stealing energy from the rotation of
the Earth. But then again, maybe the process of giving it an atmosphere
has caused friction which current predictions do not allow for.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none"> </DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">One
thing is certain: Wolfe has been purposely vague about the matter.
He even mentions the fact in an afterword.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">-
Gerry Quinn</DIV></DIV>
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