The Baroque Cycle (open spoilers, galore)

[lee]

@Grossbottom

I wasn’t aware that he possessed the actual artifact, do the books say that?

The dangling story thread that I want cleared up the most is the lizard that Bobby Shaftoe was on about after Guadalcanal. “We don’t want to hear about the lizard, Sergeant!”

Does anyone know what Stephenson is working on now?

The gold punch cards are made of gold mixed with that substance. Enoch may have an independent supply as well.

I am damn curious about the lizard, but it may just be part of the “inexplicable things happen to Shaftoes” theme.

[Malthus]

@lee

The gold punch cards are made of gold mixed with that substance. Enoch may have an independent supply as well.

I am damn curious about the lizard, but it may just be part of the “inexplicable things happen to Shaftoes” theme.

The lizard, I thought, was an actual lizard - one of the komodo dragons, or another of the monitor lizards. http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/komodo/

Komodo dragons have been known to eat people; I’m not sure about other monitor species, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

[Only_Mostly_Dead]

@Malthus

The lizard, I thought, was an actual lizard - one of the komodo dragons, or another of the monitor lizards. http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/komodo/

Komodo dragons have been known to eat people; I’m not sure about other monitor species, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

That’s what I assumed too. The only problem I have with it is that komodo dragons were classified (Varanus komodoensis) in 1912, so they should be at least vaguely known, especially to somebody like cameo-Reagan or the Marine officers in DC, in the 1940s.

[Malthus]

@Only Mostly Dead

That’s what I assumed too. The only problem I have with it is that komodo dragons were classified (Varanus komodoensis) in 1912, so they should be at least vaguely known, especially to somebody like cameo-Reagan or the Marine officers in DC, in the 1940s.

Well, it probably wasn’t the Komodo dragon itself - those are I believe confined in range to a couple of islands in Indonesia; rather, a similar monitor lizard species. The Mangrove Monitor for example is found on Guadalcanal & the Solomon Islands, and can reach a very respectable 5 feet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove_pygmy_goanna

Either that, or it was a somewhat out-of-range Komodo Dragon.

I don’t know how wide-spread knowledge of such carnivorous lizards was in the 1940s - for example, many even now, when knowledge is much more widespread, reading about the “giant lizard” in the book are I think unaware that such large and carnivorous lizards actually exist.

[Lemur866]

@Only Mostly Dead

2. GEB Kivistik. A bloated pretentious academic that Randy blasts early in the book, who turns out to possibly be the child of Bobby Shaftoe (the B), Enoch Root (the E), or Gunter Bischoff (the G) through the promiscuity of Julietta Kivistik. This interesting little side note seemingly has no real relevance to the larger metastory, but it seems like it should. Like whether Enoch Root, whoever or whatever he is, could actually father a child. Or whether a Shaftoe could escape the rogue archetype the entire family is trapped in repeating. Or something. But it drives me crazy that Stephenson gave no answers on something seemingly so small.

This GEB name is a little allusion to Godel Escher Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter. Stephanson probably chose the character names in order to be able to make this pun, or maybe he noticed the names were GEB and thought it would be funny to make the reference.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godel_escher_bach