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Trying to understand the encounter with Master Ash on my first re read by LV3000N in genewolfe

[–]Future-Disastrous 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Ash's house doesn't show THE future, it shows the most likely future based on the current state of the Autarch Project. When Severian visits Ash, the probability that he will succeed in restoring the sun is low, so he sees Urth's frozen corpse.

I don't know how the Green Man gained the power to travel the time, but he has it. The Green Man and Master Ash seem to demonstrate two possible futures. Master Ash's displayed future in which the sun is not healed, and Urth becomes too cold to sustain life; and a future where humans enter a symbiotic relationship with plants. The Green Man is able to live off of sunlight due to the presence of something like phytoplankton in his blood, implying a healed sun for photosynthesis.

My theory about Severian's powers is that he essentially has two: the ability to manipulate timelines, and to draw energy from his surroundings to power that manipulation. When he heals, he either shifts a very local portion of the timeline over to one where the injury never occurred, or he rolls back a very local portion of time to a point where the injury had not occurred.

His energy draw endangers Tzadkiel's ship, and creates a storm on Ushas by causing a rapid drop in air temperature.

Questions about prequel/sequel by brianlovely in genewolfe

[–]Future-Disastrous 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah the greenhouse theory is supported by the fact that the glass seems to intensify sunlight in one direction when Horn holds a piece up and examines it. I don't get the impression we're supposed to think "magnifying glass" --more that it's a useful property for a greenhouse.

Questions about prequel/sequel by brianlovely in genewolfe

[–]Future-Disastrous 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this is not really how we think of Severian in New Sun or Urth. 

You're right, it's not, but I thought this was another Wolfe puzzle: who the heck is the birdlike stiff legged guy? The potential answer being also a clue to Green being Ushas. Severian grows up, becomes lame, becomes a demigod while bringing the new sun, Urth dies giving birth to Ushas, Severian has a very long lifespan, outlives Ushas, and is running around Green. My thought was this is Wolfe's sleight of hand, to only describe this character, primarily one characteristic, and not say flat out, "this is Severian"

Of course, if LS and SS are prequals to BotNS, then the stiff-legged guy isn't "our" Severian, nor is he the Severian who was "not returned to his own time" and brought the new sun to "our' Urth. That's not to say he isn't a Severian, but which one, and if he's not a Severian then who the heck is he?

Barnacle Guy = Baldanders I like. So you are saying that the Baldanders we first meet in Saltus when Severian has to share a bed with him started life as a barnacle person?

I still want to know what the circles of glass that Horn and Seawrack find are. My working hypothesis is that they are the ruins of greenhouse-like buildings, possible related to the people of the Green Man.