He conjectures that Agia slipped it into his sabertache when the crashed into the altar. Her later attempt to pickpocket him and retrieve it lends credence to that idea. However, based on what we “know” about The Claw, it is only conjecture on Severian’s part. There are a couple other explanations that take the nature of The Claw into account that may also be accurate.
I just bought this version of the Book of the New Sun, which is put together as one novel.
I’m really enjoying the second book in the series.
I have a question about the plot of Claw of the Conciliator(second part). I’ll spoiler box it.
[spoiler]I have found Claw of the Conciliator easier to follow and understand than Shadow of the Torturer. Deep focus/concentration has paid off and I have followed Severian’s experiences in this book much easier than the first book.
I am, however, confused as to what happened just now. He and Jonas were imprisoned in the Antechamber of the House. Jonas, who appears to be part robot or at least part-mechanical…disappeared.
Then, Severian got Terminus Est back. He was looking for the Green Room…uh…to complete the mission Vodalus gave him. He then…talks to someone(an androgyne???) about a book. it contains images.
He then…runs and the chapter changes. And he is back…and meets up with Dr. Talos and friends(including Dorcas!). What happened?
I read online the Wolfewiki summary for this part and it says he met the Autaurch. He did? Huh?
I began to get lost once he made his escape attempt. Can anyone kindly and accurately summarize how he got from the Antechamber back to his “friends”??[/spoiler]
The best summary I’ve seen is actually from the gaming book GURPS New Sun:
[spoiler]"By sifting Thecla’s memories, Severian learns that the demons were just mischervious young exultants having their cruel fun. He finds the secret door leading out of the antechamber, but in the next room, the Presence Chamber, Jonas sees his opportunity to escape Urth and enters the mirror teleportation device.
“Severian wanders alone through the subterranean House Absolute, eventually meeting up with the brothel manager from the Algedonic Quarter, and learning he is the spy Vodalus wanted him to contact. Through an accidental miscommunication, the spy opens the Book of Mirrors for Severian, but Severian balks at entering it, choosing to remain on Urth. Severian realizes that this “spy” is actually the Autarch himself.”
Severian thinks he reasons his way into finding where Terminus Est must have been placed, but the androgyne/brothel manager/spy/Autarch informs him that it was returned via a property of the Second House that Father Inre built (which goes unexplained). Severian then flees outside the House Absolute… where he finds his “friends” ready to perform their play, as planned.[/spoiler]
Remember, even inconsequential meetings and comments are likely to become relevant later - in this case, hints about what went on in the Algedonic Quarter, and what’s going on with Vodalus’ revolution.
Huh, thanks for that recap. I also tried re-reading the final pages of the relevant chapter and I still find it too subtle to indicate that he was talking to the Autarch. I swear it is nearly a throw-away line where Severian just pauses and says, “And then the autarch…” and that was the reveal. Hey, I’m no genius. Some poor saps need at least a little clarity once in awhile.
Just to prove I am entirely clueless, I will add this question. Brace yourselves, I’m dumb.
I thought he was talking to the guy who ran the “Brothel” and hooked him up with a Thecla lookalike there(during Book 1). Does this mean that the “brother runner” was the Autarach? Or am I truly missing out on chunks of narrative due to my stupidity?
And no, I have no idea what Vodalus is revolting against. Severian also seems not to know. He just…admired and was swept away by Vodalus during the opening scene of the book.
That explanation is incorrect. Severian does find Terminus Est through a mixture of reasoning and shit-ass good luck. The spy/androgyne/Autarch finds Severian because a metal detector built into the entrance of one of the rooms of the Second House notices Terminus Est, traps him, and alerts Father Inire and/or the Autarch.
I still can’t believe the spy was the Autarch. I do believe it, but it is stunning. I thought the Autarch was like the current emperor over the Citadel-metro-area. Is he also in disguise as a brothel-runner? Is Vodalus…on his side if the Autarch is a spy as well?
(loving the book, having difficulty with some story points).
He is the ruler of The Commonwealth, and by extension, of Urth. He is also a spy for Vodalus as it allows him to keep tabs on “The Resistance.” He is also a brothel keeper because he finds it useful to be part of the criminal underworld. Further, he holds several minor offices within the House Absolute because sometimes being a steward of this or that is a more useful tool than being Autarch. Keep in mind that most people have never seen The Autarch, or even an image of him. Based on in-story evidence, this is true even of Exultants. That makes it considerably easier for him to hold all these roles.
Holy cow, my mind is blown. If what you say is right, I have followed the story but found the paragraph you wrote above to be too unexpected to believe.
Huh.
Double “huh”.
:eek:
As the story winds on, you’ll see that he is quite the multi-faceted fellow.
A bit more unspoilered stuff about The Autarch, none of which gives away plot points: The Exultants, as a group, are largely in opposition to him. The “concubines” at The Well of Orchids are actually better described as hostages. The Autarch does control the monstrous troops, and others like them, that Severian glimpses while passing through the Wall of Nessus towards the end of book 1. He has “words of power” (basically passwords) that let him control various mechanisms, non-humans, and people who hold government positions. Those words of power are an important part of his office. They are what infallibly identify The Autarch. His dealings with the cacogens are more complex than they may seem. Keep in mind that ALL energy weapons on Urth, no matter who has them, come ultimately from the cacogens.
Thanks; it’s been a while since I re-read the books, and the GURPS summary wasn’t helpful there.
Note that the “Thecla lookalike” was actually Thecla’s khaibit – which Thecla explains at some point (while imprisoned, I think) is sort of like an Exultant’s clone. It was an early hint that the brothelkeeper might be more than he said he was, if he had access to an Exultant’s khaibit…
Which reminds me of something else that might have been missed: Exultants are all extremely tall, much taller than normal. Severian’s height is occasionally remarked upon, as a possible connection/relation to Exultants.
The Autarch is not described as tall.
Overall, it pays to keep in mind as you read that Severian is unreliable and, sometimes, not very bright. The unwary reader will tend to assume that, because Severian didn’t believe the Thecla khaibit had come from the House Absolute , that she actually was just the poor girl from some nearby neighborhood that Severian imagined she was. Severian tells us what he believes to be the truth (mostly), but what he believes isn’t necessarily correct.
This is the number one thing I have read without spoilering myself. I also get the general impression that part of what makes the story unique…is that Severian does NOT know what is going on, only what he saw and experienced.
I am reading the part where a play is fully performed(transcripted in play form for the reader). They describe the sun as “caving in on itself due to gravity”.
A black hole is forming. Must be what is happening to them in the real world, though they are not panicking and running in the streets screaming “the end!!”.
Why no panic? Odd.
The answer to that lies ahead and is, for once, something stated explicitly. Some questions never are answered, alas. There is never any explanation of the chaos at the gate that ends book 1, for example. There are fan generated hypotheses, but I find none of them really convincing.
I have yet to picture in my mind what the Sun currently looks like for them. I don’t know if it is visibly damaged. I know they compared it to an apple rotting from the inside. Looks fine, is definitely NOT fine. Perhaps…they don’t all know the Sun is dying?
The sun’s appearance is one of those little details you’re likely to miss on the first several readthroughs, dropped in as throwaway color text almost. At one point – and I don’t recall where, probably in the first book - Severian mentions it’s possible to stare directly at the sun, implying it’s much dimmer in his time. There is a general awareness that the sun – and Urth – is on its last legs, but it’s not treated with any urgency.
There are a few characters who pop up, who know the bigger picture, and so tend to drop little revelatory factoids here and there.
Lots of the little details scattered about show how old the Urth is – you caught what was going on with the pictures in the library, yes? Severian’s ignorance in talking about the picture of the knight with the flag shows just how remote his era is.
Another of the little throwaway details I like was Severian’s description of the ocean’s beaches (which doesn’t come until, IIRC, the last book, so I won’t spoil it).
Forgot to tell you…the play is the story of the Urth of the New Sun. If you paid attention to Severian’s dream from the night he shared a room with Baldanders and you paid attention to Dr. Talos’s play, much of what goes on around Severian will take on additional meaning or significance in the remaining books.
We, right now, know the sun is going to die* in a billion years or so. Why no panic in our streets?
In the book, they know the sun is going to die in a million years or so. Or maybe a thousand years. Likewise, no panic in their streets because the time is too distant for them to care.
*“Die” as in kill us all.
I could not tell when the Sun is going go die. If it is that far away, then I get it.
Note: 3-4 chapters later, Severian explicitly explains to Dorcas that it was the Autarch and he also expresses his confusion over the roles/jobs the Autarch has had.
It was made 100% clear even to an average reader, just not immediately.