today are noble because they are w ealthy, an d no t w ealthy because

  they are noble. T h e changes introduced by contact w ith the West

  toppled the C hinese E m pire and ended the pow er of the Japanese

  aristocracy.

  Conversely, S tagnation, Poverty, an d Peace are the creators of

  aristocracy. Reviewers of T he Book of the N ew Sun often say they are

  surprised to find a “ m edieval” or “ E u ro p e an ” aristocracy governing

  the countryside. T h e tru th is that there is n o th in g particularly m ed ieval or E uropean ab o u t such aristocracies— they evolve everywhere w hen conditions are rig h t for them for a period long enough for them

  to develop.

  I grew u p in Texas, w hich was a wilderness a hundred and fifty

  years ago but now has a fairly well developed ran ch in g aristo cracy. R anches are passed from father to son, and cattle brands are used as coats of arm s were in the m iddle ages and as each

  (great) fam ily’s m o n was in feudal Jap a n . Landless im itators of

  the aristocracy are said to be “all hat and no cattle” ; it is su rprising

  how seldom Easterners recognize, in the w h eelin ’, d e a lin ’, b ellerin ’

  Texas m illio n aire they joke and com plain about, the braw ling

  noblem an in em bryo.

  In the USSR, it is already noticeable that the m anagerships of

  collective farm s rem ain in families and are frequently passed from

  father to son. T h is is, of course, no t a m atter of Soviet policy but of

  expediency. M anagers sent out from Moscow retu rn to Moscow at the

  first o p p o rtu n ity , w hile the established local m anager can use his

  political connections to get his son a superior education and use his

  11

  Plan[e]t Engineering

  ow n position to train him in adm inistrative duties that are basically

  u n changing.

  W hen the m anager dies, his son is on the spot and clearly the person

  best qualified to adm inister the farm. It is pointless to protest th at he

  does not “ in fact” ow n the farm, w hich belongs to the Soviet

  G overnm ent, w hich (in theory) adm inisters it as the deputy of the

  P roletariat. T h e noble of the h ig h m iddle ages did not (in theory) ow n

  his estate either. He held it from the king in return for feudal service

  that was seldom given, and the king in tu rn held the w hole country as

  the vassal (this w ord originally m eant “ servant boy”) of God. T h is is

  not to condem n (or praise) Soviet society; I am merely saying— no,

  in sistin g — that certain social patterns w ill emerge w hen conditions are

  favorable to them , ju st as the availability of certain types of m usical

  instrum ents w ill result in the com position of certain types of music.

  In aristocratic societies inheritance is the best way of getting

  money, and the reliance on it strengthens the bonds of blood. If you

  do not help your relations, they may leave their money to som eone

  else or influence other relations to d isinherit you. T h e d a ’s concern

  for her fam ily and its history is thus entirely logical and practical. H er

  best chance of release is thro u g h the influence of her relatives.

  T h e second book Severian describes is a euchologion or form ulary

  of prayers, and our o p in io n of its practicality depends on o u r o p in io n

  of the efficacy of prayer and the reality of the deity addressed. In

  America today, the first question is (properly, I think) left to private

  belief. We may pray or not, as we choose. And if we choose, we can

  believe in the existence of a deity, but choose not to pray, like the

  character in one of L. Sprague de C am p ’s K rishnan novels w ho feels

  that the gods are m ost ap t to favor those w ho refrain from pestering

  them. O r we may pray w ith o u t belief in any deity on the grounds that

  it does no harm and it is possible we are m istaken. T h is last has

  always struck me as the only logical choice for an agnostic, and I

  w ould m ore than suspect that T hecla prayed in this fashion, were it

  not for the nature of one of the rem ain in g books.

  If she addressed her prayers directly to the deity and no t to some

  12

  Books in The Book of the New Sun

  intercessor, the deity involved was probably the Increate. T h e

  designation is derived from the most com m on argum ent for the

  existence of God. Briefly, it is this: To all tangible objects we can

  assign som e cause; individuals are the children of some parents, for

  example, th o u g h we may never have know n those parents. Sim ilarly,

  anim als are derived from earlier anim als, an d plan ts from the seeds of

  earlier plants. Stones are spontaneously engendered in the earth,

  rivers rise from springs, springs are born of rain, rain descends from

  clouds, clouds condense from air, air is b ro u g h t by w ind, and so on

  indefinitely.

  However, the ch ain of causation cannot be infinite, because an

  infinite universe w ould be required to contain it, and for th at infinite

  universe there is no cause. Therefore, at the end of the chain of

  causation there m ust be some being that created all the rest by

  creating beings th at created others; and this being we will call the

  Increate— th at w hich is no t itself the creation of another.

  T h a t is the nam e m ost com m only used in T he Book of the New

  Sun. In T h e Shadow of the Torturer, C hapter VII, M aster G urloes

  says, “ But w ith the passage of tim e I have come to u nderstand that the

  Increate, in choosing for me a career in o u r guild, was acting for my

  benefit. D oubtless I had acquired some m erit in a previous life, as I

  hope I have in this o n e.” A lthough Master G urloes is an old hy p o crite, this speech of his tells us a good deal. T h e Increate is th o u g h t to govern the course of h u m an lives; yet h u m an beings are believed to

  possess a free w ill, since they could no t acquire m erit w ith o u t one.

  Perhaps m ost im p o rtan t, the people of the C om m onw ealth believe in

  reincarnation.

  Perhaps we should also note here that there seems to be a belief in

  luck, chance, or fate as well, th o u g h not w holly ap a rt from the

  I.icreate. In C hapter X I V , w hen Master P alaem on gives Severian the

  sword Terminus Est, he says, “ May the M oira favor you, Severian.”

  Moira in this sense m eans a sacred lottery — luck as an instru m en t of

  deity.

  We should note, too, that Increate is only one of several "n am es”

  13

  Plan[e]t Engineering

  used to refer to the U ltim ate Power. T h e sweepsmen Severian hears as

  he trudges u p the Water Way in C hapter xiv use ours, singing:

  Row, brothers, row!

  T h e current is against us.

  Row, brothers, row!

  Yet G od is for us.

  Row, brothers, row!

  T h e w ind is against us.

  Row, brothers, row!

  Yet G od is for us.

  T h eir song shows that God may also be in com m on use, if only

  am ong slaves and the very poor. However, it is possible that the w ord

  is preserved only in this im m em orial row ing chant. In the entire

  length of T he Book of the N ew Sun I believe it occurs only there,

  alth o u g h Severian hears the song again in T h e Citadel o f the

  Autarch, in C hapter X X X III , w hen the crew of the Samru rows h im u p

  Gyoll.

  One more p o in t seems w orth observing. It is that the sweepsm en

  appear to believe th at adversity itself can be a sign of the favor of the

  deity. And how can you argue w ith them? If the w ind an d cu rren t

  were always w ith their vessel, no sweepsmen w ould be needed.

  I am occasionally asked to translate the L atin (that is to say, they

  are given as L atin in my translation) inscriptions on the sundials in

  the A trium of T im e, w hich Valeria m istranslates. T hey are L u x dei

  vitae viam monstrat; Felicibus brevis, miseris hora longa; and Aspice

  ut aspiciar; and they m ean “ T h e lig h t of G od shows the road of life” ;

  “ H appiness is brief, m isery’s hours lo n g ” ; and significantly, “ L ook at

  me so th at I may be looked u p o n ,” w hich Valeria does n o t translate.

  Before we leave these old dial m ottos, it may be well to q uote V aleria’a

  m istranslation of the first. It is “T h e beam of the New S un lights the

  way of life.”

  W hich brings us back to the enam eled pictures. W ho are those

  14

  Books in The Book of the New Sun

  pantocrators? If h u m an beings are reincarnated, are they thus greater

  than the Increate?

  Briefly, in the time before Ym ar was A utarch, w hen the sun had

  begun to cool, there appeared on U rth a m an now called the

  C onciliator, an intercessor and m ediator w ho healed the sick and

  attem pted to teach the people; his stories form w hat is now called The

  Book of the N e w Sun. It is thus titled because the C onciliator

  prom ised that in tim e he w ould return b rin g in g U rth a new sun. (Dr.

  Talos has seen this “ lost” book and based his play “ Eschatology and

  Genesis” u p o n it.) In his second appearance, the C onciliator is thus

  called the New Sun.

  Of the re m a in in g books I need say little. T h e book U ltan finds

  for Severian is of course T he Book of the Wonders of Urth and

  Sky, w hich Severian carried w ith him on his w anderings as a

  m em ento of T hecla. One reviewer has called it a sort of future

  science-fiction anthology. T h e tru th is that it w ould be more

  accurate (th o u g h no t entirely accurate) to call it a future Bul-

  fin c h ’s Age of Fable or Beauties of Mythology, It was, as M aster

  U ltan tells Severian “a standard work, three or four h undred years

  ago.” He goes on to say, “ It relates most of the fam iliar legends

  of ancient times. To me the most interesting is th at of the

  H istorians, w hich tells of a time in w hich every legend could

  be traced to half-forgotten fact.” In w ritin g the legends, I have

  supposed facts and old stories to have become confused w ith

  others, a rascally technique that has earned me at least one vehem ent accusation of plagiarism . T hus, for exam ple, the custom of an academic thesis is confounded w ith the legend of Theseus in

  “T h e Tale of the S tudent and His S on.”

  T h e fourth book, as the astute reader w ill have guessed long ago, is

  The Book of the N ew Sun itself. And now we are come again to the

  notion of recurrence, of the library folded in u p o n itself like the Klein

  bottle. T h is notio n of recurrence seems to me to circle our Earth (you

  may spell it as you like) like the M idgard serpent, w hich clasps its tail

  in its m outh and is brother to the wolf Fenris. For the library of Master

  15

  Plan[e]t Engineering

  U ltan is in T he Book of the N ew Sun, and T he Book of the N ew S u n

  is in his library. And you are the readers of that book.

  16

  jfitv

  “I ’m glad y o u ’re new to F lorida,” the real estate agent said,

  “because this place is such a treat. I t’s nice to be able to give

  somebody that kind of w elcom e.” She looked across at Ms. Daisy

  McKane and sm iled. She was q u ite good-looking, Ms. McKane

  thought, tanned and freckled— th o u g h perhaps a little too old.

  “ Florida has been a treat already,” Ms. McKane said, trying to pu t

  a slight em phasis on the fourth and fifth words. “ So nice. I ’ve met

  such lovely p eo p le.”

  Her left h an d was beside her leg, where the agent could touch it

  easily if she wished. She did not. Ms. McKane looked ou t the

  w indow at the dreary landscape of palm etto and sw am p grass

  baking under the noonday sun. “Are you certain your batteries are

  up?” she asked after a time. She had a horror of ru n n in g dow n on a

  lonely road, and so m any roads were lonely now.

  “ B rand new an d freshly charged,” the agent an n ounced cheerfully.

  “ N o th in g to worry about. F lorida is easy on cars anyway, since

  they’ve gone to fiberglass bodies. T h e salt air used to corrode the

  alu m in u m ones som ething awful. A sort of sickly w hite dust. Where

  did you say you worked?”

  “ C ape R ose.”

  “ I m ean w here at the Cape, Ms. McKane?”

  “ I really d o n ’t th in k I should tell you th a t,” Ms. McKane

  answered prim ly. She had her doctorate now, and it irritated her that

  she could no t use the title outside.

  17

  Plan[e]t Engineering

  “ O h, I ’m no spy.” T h e agent giggled, and Ms. McKane decided she

  was not as attractive as she had first thought. Celibacy is best, she

  told herself. It always has been.

  I ve heard that u p no rth there are sym pathizers all over.”

  ‘‘I really w o u ld n ’t know .”

  T hey sw ung off onto a new road. An old and battered tin sign

  announced W EST COCOA B E A C H /PO P 15,000. " D o n ’t pay any

  atten tio n to th a t,” the agent said. " It isn ’t right. More like twelve

  th o u san d .” (Even that was probably a lie, Ms. McKane th o u g h t.)

  Do you have a car? You’ll need one. I have a friend in the business,

  and I ’ll give you her card.”

  " I t’s being shipped down by ra il,” Ms. McKane said. "I see a lot of

  these houses are for sale. T hey were shabby bungalow s for the m ost

  part, half strangled by their subtropical plantings.

  "You can get three times the house for no m ore than they’re asking

  for these,” the agent assured her. “T h a t’s w hat I ’m taking you to

  see.”

  T h e little car turned a corner and jolted to a halt. Ms. McKane

  looked out. T h e house w a s... stately. T here was no other word for

  it. Two stories, and dorm er window s that indicated a finished attic.

  T h e lot was twice as large as the others. T h e grass was high and w ild

  now and the house needed a little paint, but ju st the s a m e ...

  "Seventeen thousand five h u n d red ,” the agent said. "W ith your jo b

  the bank w o n ’t ask for a dow n paym ent, though you can give them

  one if you like.”

  “ I could never furnish this place,” Ms. McKane said as she clim bed

  ou t of the car. “ Never.”

  “T h e re ’s fu rn itu re already; it goes w ith the house. Keep w hat you

  like and throw the rest o u t.”

  "R eally?” Ms. McKane turned to look at her, but she was already

  sk ip p in g u p the steps.

  "Really. O ld fu rn itu re ’s w orth practically n o th in g today, you

  know. Not unless there are real an tiq u es.”

  A fat w om an in a prin ted suit was w atching them from the lawn

  18

  In Looking-Glass Castle

  of the house on the other side of the street. W hen Ms. McKane looked

  at her, she shook her head and turned away.

  “T h a t’s an o th er advantage. You’ll have neighbors on both sides

  and across. H andy in case you get sick or som ething. People here are

  neighborly.”

  T h e front door squeaked open, and a blessed wave of coolness

  enveloped them . Ms. McKane stepped inside, looking at the fireplace

  and the graceful Q ueen A nne sofa. “ It’s lovely, and so cool.”

  “ I m entioned at the office that I was going to show it,” the agent

  said. “ N ora was goin g ou t this way, and she m ust have stopped in

  and turned on the air co n d itio n in g for u s.”

  In the kitchen Ms. McKane said, “ It’s so big. I w onder if I can find

  someone to live here w ith m e.”

  Sale. T h e agent relaxed and smiled. “You should have yourself

  cloned. I m ean, if you haven’t already — ”

  Ms. McKane shook her head.

  “ — I mean, look at this w om an. She h a d n ’t, and she drow ned and

  had to give all this up. T hey ju st scrape some cells from inside your

  cheek, you k n o w .”

  “ Unless I can find som eone to share the house, there’d be no one to

  look after the baby.” Ms. McKane was practical.

  A gum -chew ing teenager delivered her car the next day, and Ms.

  McKane drove her back to the station. “ It’s an old one, isn ’t it?” the

  girl asked.

  Ms. McKane nodded absently. T h e car’s hunched black sides,

  which had seemed so reassuringly strong in Boston, looked ou t of

  place in the b rillia n t sun. Were they alum inum ? Ms. McKane could

 

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