I don’t think the solar cycle is really worse than our reality in nature at all, merely a progression of human freedoms. There are news stories every day that make the events of the commonwealth, except for the catastrophic flood, seem quite close to our world.<div><br></div><div>Regarding lies- Because time turns our lies into truth - I really the lies or misdirections in Wolfe become twisted to reflect a deeper reality. Almost all of my analysis of Wolfe is based on taking everything super literally, or taking some things that seem to be mere dressing as allegorical. A dream in WK says “I” knew my baby would die and could not breathe. Able’s story is a projection by Michael into his mother’s dreams - the dreams are real but the “whole story” is a dream. Now at the end of my project I really cant help but see how Wolfe keeps turning badness into good and things that seem to be impossible or inexplicable become logical when taken literally. </div><div><br></div><div>There are Christian missionaries in the solar cycle. Well then, despite all the over rationalization and hints at a cyclic reality, quite simply, there is Christ in the solar cycle. About sixteen years ago everyone kept pulling out Occam’s razor on me when I talked about Short Sun. I don’t think fiction has to conform to that, but in my mind having no Christ in New Sun serves little to no thematic purpose if it is at all involved in interrogating human agency and fate versus free will. Even in my reading of WK developing embryo Able has a choice, and the absence of Christ in Mythgarthr save for that sole cross which comes to resonate with eterne and actual birth at least makes a tragic sense. <br><br>On Friday, September 7, 2018, Jeffery Wilson <a href="http://clueland.com">clueland.com</a> <<a href="mailto:jwilson@clueland.com">jwilson@clueland.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">On 05-Sep-18 12:36 PM, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
The criminal on the scaffold in Silk's enlightenment? Obviously Jesus. Who says enlightenment only works backwards?<br>
<br>
I suspect that Severian _does_ lie, or at least makes mistakes. There are little contradictions in his account that don't jibe with him having perfect memory *and* truthfulness.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
On Wed, Sep 5, 2018 at 9:28 AM Marc Aramini <<a href="mailto:marcaramini@gmail.com" target="_blank">marcaramini@gmail.com</a><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<mailto:<a href="mailto:marcaramini@gmail.com" target="_blank">marcaramini@gmail.com</a>><wbr>> wrote:<br>
<br>
My nuclear hot take on the solar cycle: Severian doesn’t lie; Wolfe<br>
almost does - but not to me. <br>
</blockquote>
<br>
The narrative has Sev flat out lying to Vodalus, despite having taken his coin and sworn allegiance, and to his brothers in the Guild.<br>
<br>
Why not to us?<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I just can’t imagine Wolfe would take<br>
out the most important person in history and have it change nothing<br>
in that history. We still get Alice in wonderland and a Catholic<br>
Church and drinking matte in South America and pope’s translation of<br>
the odyssey. Jesus didn’t have any impact on history if the solar<br>
cycle doesn’t have him.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Ordinarily I would agree with that hypothesis but it's based on a materialistic, objectively causal theory of history. After the first Edenic manvantara where everything goes right and mankind begets the Hierodules before becoming the sublime Hieros and vanishing, the Hierodules are left behind but use their access to Briah to try to make history conform to the first go-round so they can follow.<br>
<br>
So if there is no Jesus, they can supply one. If there is no Gospel, they can supply a set. But if there is no LOGOS in them, or him, that's up to the Increate. I think Wolfe's notion is that the imitation of goodness can mitigate the crapsack world of the Christless future, but it's just not the same and the best you can hope for is someone to become a vessel for real goodness to influence divine judgement.<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Jeffery Wilson - < <a href="mailto:jwilson@clueland.com" target="_blank">jwilson@clueland.com</a> ><br>
RIP - A&M Texarkana Computational Intelligence Lab<br>
< <a href="http://clueland.com/demo/interact/" target="_blank">http://clueland.com/demo/inter<wbr>act/</a> ><br>
______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
Urth Mailing List<br>
To post, write <a href="mailto:urth@urth.net" target="_blank">urth@urth.net</a><br>
Subscription/information: <a href="http://www.urth.net" target="_blank">http://www.urth.net</a></blockquote></div>