From: "Kieran Cleary" <kierannwn@tinet.ie>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Rostum & Nutria
Date: Tue, 9 Sep 1997 15:51:21 +0100


[Posted from WHORL, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

>> Anyway, I think it's pretty clear that the Outsider is both God and a
burst
>> blood-vessel in Silk's head. 

>Is there any evidence other than Crane's speculation that Silk burst a
>blood-vessel?

Well, as in Real Life, if someone has a vision or numinous experience, that
can be interpreted as the de facto evidence that they "burst a blood
vessel" or whatever. Of course, the believer will explain the experience in
supernatural terms. The point is that the ambiguity can exist. In the
Whorl, which is set in the same universe (or a similar cycle) as the Urth
series, the ambiguity is less concrete. Basically, in the universe of the
Whorl, we can take it that God exists, while in Real Life it's a moot
point. 

lasrach

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