Fatal Revenant: Part 1, Ch 6, Interference
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:26 am
This is a great moment in the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The foreplay of the first five chapters is over. He’s not leading up to something with teasing, hinting, developing prose. We’re here. We’ve arrived at our destination. This movement back to the past has got to be one of those key structural features that Donaldson has known about for a long, long time. One of the Big Events he’s carried around in his head, perhaps even before he began Runes, back when he was daunted by the prospect of writing the Last Chronicles. And maybe it was precisely these sorts of narrative directions that made him nervous about beginning that task. Going back into the Land’s past has got to be at least as tricky for the author as it is for the characters. His dilemma is similar. Just as the characters can disturb the arch of time, so can the author erode the integrity, legitimacy, and internal consistency of his own work. This is a dangerous moment for us all. As fans of his work, we stand on the brink of potential ruin just as Linden herself.
And right from the beginning, Donaldson seems to be acknowledging the magnitude of what he’s doing in the prose:
And SRD wants to make it clear that this isn’t like being translated to the Land, or traveling back in time via a caesure. This, as he says, was utterly different. That in itself is strange. One would think that being translated out of her “real” world into this “fantasy” world would be, in metaphysical terms, orders of magnitude greater than merely moving about within that fantasy world, even back and forth through its time. But this is worse.
It’s interesting that Donaldson chooses to explain this transformation in physiological terms. His language here is different than anywhere else in the Chronicles. It’s downright clinical.
Wow, now that’s a sentence worthy of admiration! I bet that one makes him smile with well-earned pride.
I’d like to note the hints Donaldson gives us concerning Covenant. I'm going to try not to spoil things, but if you're not a little curious about Covenant at this point, you're simply not paying attention.
. But the Theomach actually takes that possibility seriously enough to divert Covenant. So what was his original path? Why was it more dangerous than the one he goes on now? What does the Theomach actually accomplish in terms of lessening the risk of Covenant’s intentions?
Theomach says something of great import
Regarding the Staff of Law this has got to be important:
I really like how Linden forces Covenant to take her into account. He tries to ignore her, and it’s clear that her only use to him is as Elohim insurance. But she tosses her Staff at him, and then reminds him that she has the power to stop him from achieving his goal—even if that means she can’t get back to her own time without him. I believe her when she shouts, “I don’t care! Without Jeremiah, nothing that you do means anything to me!” She’s not bluffing.
I also like how both men have issues with being introduced. They both have reasons to mislead her, and those reasons are plausible, not mere writer’s tricks to fake out us, the audience. This was well thought out. Masterful writing. They both had something to gain by mystifying her.
There is one curious thing about the danger of Linden knowing the details of the Theomach’s identity--possibly the most important detail of this chapter. Theo explains this danger to Covenant—who, as a being melded with the Arch of Time, really should know this already.
Then the Theomach goes on to ask: “Do you dare to acknowledge that you do not comprehend this?” See, Covenant should know it. That’s why, a few paragraphs earlier, Linden wonders:
The Theomach's explanation continues. I think it’s worth examining in detail.
That’s the distant outcome of current events. The next sentence is where I get confused. “Given knowledge which she cannot possess by right of that experience.” “Given knowledge” would be, obviously, Covenant telling her. But how does “that experience” give or limit her right to knowledge? I don’t think this makes sense at all. Which is probably why Donaldson included the “can’t be distinguished from the Arch,” bit.
Covenant replies that of course he doesn’t want the destruction of the earth. And the Theomach doesn’t raise an objection. Yet, the Theomach clearly has doubts about this very issue, because he thought Covenant was dangerous enough to divert his path for this reason. Again, I ask, what was so dangerous about his original path and why is this one less so? The answer may lie here: the stranger, the Theomach, had challenged Covenant to introduce him as a kind of test. Perhaps his entire purpose in diverting Covenant and Linden to this time was simply show Linden that Covenant didn’t know everything like he claimed. Specifically, he didn’t know something about time and being who he claims to be, he should. And perhaps this one thing is the change in Covenant’s plans the Theomach wished to produce all along: doubt in Linden’s mind.
. Theomach claims, I do not speak of her peril, Halfhand. I speak of yours.” So he really does expect Covenant to think some peril to him has been reduced. What’s he talking about? Covenant certainly doesn’t take that claim seriously. He calls it “fake concern.”
Covenant threatens with, ”What I have in mind for you is going to be worse than the destruction of the Earth. I’m going to make you and all your people and even the damn Elohim irrelevant.”Can any of you make sense of this one? It does seem to contradict
When Jeremiah finally appears, the Theomach stops her from using power or touching him. He warns that her losses will be greater than she is able to conceive, if she errs in this. I don’t get that, either. How would that be any different from
Jeremiah says, ”It’s a good thing those ur-viles attacked when they did. I didn’t want to have to call for help.” I think we all know now who he would have called. Any other possibilities?
Well, this is getting long. I’ll leave some for the rest of you. I’m stopping on page 130, if anyone else wants to pick it up from there. There’s one final point that really fascinates me. Linden’s thinks she may have enabled something bad to happen to Jeremiah by giving him the racetrack. She freed him, or gave him the means to free himself.It also makes me wonder about the damn racecar . . . if the tracks were the means of constructing an “exit,” and the car is what travels on the tracks, then perhaps it’s a symbol of Jeremiah himself?
And right from the beginning, Donaldson seems to be acknowledging the magnitude of what he’s doing in the prose:
“The shock was too great. Linden was too human: no aspect of her body or her mind had been formed to accommodate such a sudden and absolute transition.”
And SRD wants to make it clear that this isn’t like being translated to the Land, or traveling back in time via a caesure. This, as he says, was utterly different. That in itself is strange. One would think that being translated out of her “real” world into this “fantasy” world would be, in metaphysical terms, orders of magnitude greater than merely moving about within that fantasy world, even back and forth through its time. But this is worse.
It’s interesting that Donaldson chooses to explain this transformation in physiological terms. His language here is different than anywhere else in the Chronicles. It’s downright clinical.
“. . . her optic nerves could not accept the change,” “Every neuron in her body except those that acknowledged the Staff refused to recognize where and who she was.” “An autonomic reflex shut her eyes against the concussive dazzling that seemed to fill the whole inside of her head like the clamor of great incandescent bells.”
Wow, now that’s a sentence worthy of admiration! I bet that one makes him smile with well-earned pride.
I also love: “With her eyes closed and her entire sensorium stunned . . .” Sensorium. That’s a word going into my personal word-toolkit. I’m definitely going to find a way to work it into my own writing.“She might damage her retinas.”
I’d like to note the hints Donaldson gives us concerning Covenant. I'm going to try not to spoil things, but if you're not a little curious about Covenant at this point, you're simply not paying attention.
That last hint is so obvious, I can’t believe I had any skepticism left at this point during my first read.
Theomach: “And do you not fear that I will reveal you?”
Theomach: “But she does not know us,” said the stranger chuckling. “Would you prefer that I speak on your behalf?”
Spoiler
I really wanted this to be Covenant. I was blinding myself, just like Linden was allowing love to cast a "glamor."
Interesting.Covenant: “You people might as well be that ‘darkness’ they keep talking about, that shadow on their hearts.”
This sets up some interesting questions. Months ago, Romeo proposed that Covenant never intended to do what he later revealsTheomach: Also, I do not desire the destruction of the Earth. The peril of your chosen path I deemed too great.”
Spoiler
[use the Earthblood to destroy the earth]
Spoiler
As far as I remember—nothing. But it also shows that Romeo’s hunch was wrong; Covenant’s intentions, revealed to Linden in a later chapter—were indeed sincere. Otherwise Theo wouldn't have diverted him.
Spoiler
to the end of this book:
Theomach: If ever she obtains that which will enable her to bear her strengths, your chagrin will provide my people with vast amusement.”
Spoiler
Sounds like he’s talking about the krill, does it not? It helps her to wield both the Staff and ring together. I don’t think there can be any doubt about his reference. In the same paragraph, he says: “When such powers are joined in the hands of one who is constrained by mortality, unable to wield both together?” So, something about Linden acquiring the krill is very dangerous to Roger. Therefore, we can safely conclude that it was never Roger’s intention to push her in a direction where she’d get the krill and have the power to wield Staff and ring together—as some have speculated. If this was Lord Foul’s plan, or Kastenessen’s, or Roger’s, there would be no need for “chagrin.” No, they’d be happy about it. I think this clears up some of the conspiracy theorizing. Linden getting the krill is definitely a good thing, and not a manipulation of her enemies.
Covenant: “If that ever happens—which is won’t—your people will be frantically trying to stop her, just like everybody else. Only in their case, it’ll be sheer greed. They’ll want all that power for themselves.”
Spoiler
And of course, that’s what happens. The Harrow tries to get Linden’s power, and everyone (except her friends) try to stop her from getting the krill. But clearly, Roger isn’t counting on her getting it.
The knowledge of its touch?Theomach: “Sadly, it is incomplete. Your need is great. You will require puissance. I return this implement of law to you with my thanks for the knowledge of it touch.”
Spoiler
Did this in any way help shape the future? We all know what the Theomach does later. Did this encounter help to make that happen? Give him knowledge he didn’t already have? It’s obvious he had to have some knowledge in this area, because he knows enough to recognize the Staff's incomplete status (which I don’t even think Linden recognized).
I also like how both men have issues with being introduced. They both have reasons to mislead her, and those reasons are plausible, not mere writer’s tricks to fake out us, the audience. This was well thought out. Masterful writing. They both had something to gain by mystifying her.
There is one curious thing about the danger of Linden knowing the details of the Theomach’s identity--possibly the most important detail of this chapter. Theo explains this danger to Covenant—who, as a being melded with the Arch of Time, really should know this already.
Now that’s a puzzle. I could have accepted if Donaldson had merely said, “her knowledge must follow linearly from her experiences, rather than artificially augmented by a perspective that transcends her own temporal flow.” But that’s not what he said. He said that her mind can’t be distinguished from the Arch, as if her consciousness itself was the Arch itself. I know I’m probably reading that description too literally. But the language Donaldson uses invites such a literal reading.Theomach: “Because she is here. In this circumstance, her mind cannot be distinguished from the Arch of Time.”
Then the Theomach goes on to ask: “Do you dare to acknowledge that you do not comprehend this?” See, Covenant should know it. That’s why, a few paragraphs earlier, Linden wonders:
Donaldson is offering this to us as an explanation for Covenant’s ignorance,He was part of the Arch of Time. And he had suggested that he knew—or could know—everything that had ever happened. Could he see the future as well? Or was his vision constrained by the present in which he had reified himself?
Spoiler
to preserve the illusion that it’s still plausible that he is who he claims to be.
The first sentence is talking about her experiencesShe has experienced the distant outcome of events which transpire in this present. If she is given knowledge which she cannot possess by right of that experience—knowledge which may alter her understanding of her own past—a paradox akin to the paradox of wild magic will ensue. Her every deed will have the power of wild magic to undo Time.
Spoiler
at the end of The One Tree.
Spoiler
Once she gets back, Stave simply tells her the truth about the Theomach (if I remember correctly). She does absolutely nothing to earn it. If all it takes to “earn” this knowledge is wait around for someone to tell her, what difference does it make * when * she is told this information? What if Stave had told her this info before she went back to this past with Covenant? Since she would have been in her proper time, it could have been no more dangerous than when he did actually tell her. So she would have “earned” the knowledge (apparently, since that's all it takes), and then gone back to meet the Theomach with that knowledge. How could it possibly have been a problem? Yet, how would it have been different from Roger telling her now?
Also, she knew who Berek was. This didn’t harm anything. Is it simply the fact of learning something that would alter her understanding of her own past? Why is altering her understanding of her past not dangerous when Stave tells her in the proper time?
And would it *really* alter her understanding of her own past to realize that this guy she's talking to is someone she has already met? How would it change that in any way? If it's not a paradox to talk to someone you've already met, surely it can't be a paradox to know who they are when you talk to them.
One final point--Roger knows who the Theomach is. How did he learn it? Why doesn't his knowledge make a paradox?
Also, she knew who Berek was. This didn’t harm anything. Is it simply the fact of learning something that would alter her understanding of her own past? Why is altering her understanding of her past not dangerous when Stave tells her in the proper time?
And would it *really* alter her understanding of her own past to realize that this guy she's talking to is someone she has already met? How would it change that in any way? If it's not a paradox to talk to someone you've already met, surely it can't be a paradox to know who they are when you talk to them.
One final point--Roger knows who the Theomach is. How did he learn it? Why doesn't his knowledge make a paradox?
So which is it? The Theomach ensuring that no harm will come? Or the fact that she will do no harm? If the Theomach can correct her ripples, what does it matter what she does? How could her knowing who he is allow her to do something he couldn’t correct?Theomach: Yet, if she acts freely, without incondign comprehension or suasion, her deeds will do no harm. That I will ensure.
What if she commanded to know who the Theomach was?Theomach: Therefore you must permit her to command—aye, and to make demands—as she chooses.
Why wouldn’t wisdom be possible for one such as him? Are we merely talking about what an asshole he is? Or is there another implication?Theomach: I have said that I do not desire the destruction of the Earth. If you are wise—if wisdom is possible for one such as you—you also will not desire it.”
Covenant replies that of course he doesn’t want the destruction of the earth. And the Theomach doesn’t raise an objection. Yet, the Theomach clearly has doubts about this very issue, because he thought Covenant was dangerous enough to divert his path for this reason. Again, I ask, what was so dangerous about his original path and why is this one less so? The answer may lie here: the stranger, the Theomach, had challenged Covenant to introduce him as a kind of test. Perhaps his entire purpose in diverting Covenant and Linden to this time was simply show Linden that Covenant didn’t know everything like he claimed. Specifically, he didn’t know something about time and being who he claims to be, he should. And perhaps this one thing is the change in Covenant’s plans the Theomach wished to produce all along: doubt in Linden’s mind.
What obstacles has the Theomach removed? I don’t remember this ever beign addressed. Also, less perilous for whom?Theomach: If you will but consider the path which I have opened to you, you will recognize that you have no cause for anger. True, I have presented new obstacles. But others I have removed. And my path is indeed less perilous.
Spoiler
If Covenant actually wants to destroy the world with the Earthblood, then he wouldn’t like the Theomach lessening this peril. In fact, he would resent it.
Covenant threatens with, ”What I have in mind for you is going to be worse than the destruction of the Earth. I’m going to make you and all your people and even the damn Elohim irrelevant.”Can any of you make sense of this one? It does seem to contradict
Spoiler
what happens at the Earthblood. How is trying to destroy the earth a lot worse than . . . destroying the earth? I can see how that would make them all irrelevant. But he seems to be talking about something else.
Spoiler
using the Staff and learning their identity in Skyweir? Doesn’t she lose exactly the same thing then? She is left in the past, and learns the truth about her son. How could it be any worse to learn that now?
Jeremiah says, ”It’s a good thing those ur-viles attacked when they did. I didn’t want to have to call for help.” I think we all know now who he would have called.
Spoiler
Kastenessen
Well, this is getting long. I’ll leave some for the rest of you. I’m stopping on page 130, if anyone else wants to pick it up from there. There’s one final point that really fascinates me. Linden’s thinks she may have enabled something bad to happen to Jeremiah by giving him the racetrack. She freed him, or gave him the means to free himself.
Going to the Land was an escape, a running away. Rather than being a means of healing, like it was for Covenant and Linden,. . . she had supplied her son with an alternative to ordinary consciousness, ordinary responses and emotions; ordinary life. She had made it easier for him to escape than to strive for a more difficult and precious form of recovery. It was conceivable that Linden had failed her son as entirely—and as unintentionally—as she had failed Joan.
Spoiler
Jeremiah and Joan were ensnared by forces more powerful than them. I wonder if the difference was their state of mind before going in, because they were given the means of escape, but were rather ensnared.
Spoiler
The remnant of his consciousness that remains from of the croyal’s control?