From: mark millman <millman@us.ncipher.com>
Subject: Re: (urth) Still More Infrequently Asked Questions
Date: Tue, 04 Jan 2000 10:28:45 

At 9:57 AM 31 December 1999, "Talarican" 
<chemmie@mindspring.com> wrote:

> I:XV when Severian and Dr. Talos first meet 
> in the inn, Talos remarks, upon learning Sev 
> is a torturer, "You're a tall fellow - that's a 
> shame - ...".  What did he mean by that? Is 
> there some reason torturers should be short?
> (low ceilings in the oubliette? <g> Or per-
> haps Talos is already sizing Sev up as a possi-
> ble actor, as Talos is disposed to view every-
> one he meets in terms of their potential im-
> mediate usefulness to him and his master)

"Tall" can also mean proud, brave, or handsome,
as in "tall ships" and "tall in the saddle".  I suspect
that you're right, and Dr. Talos was assessing 
Severian's usefulness as an actor, but not simply in 
terms of his height.

Mark Millman

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