Why "Consult"?

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profgrape

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« on: October 22, 2014, 12:37:43 am »
Of all the obtuse and peculiar names RSB could have chosen for his big bad, why "Consult"? 

The most obvious answer is that they're peddling both the revelations of the IF and their path to salvation.  And also, they hold all of the secrets -- to Earwans and to us readers.

But still, it seems like a strange and therefore deliberate choice, right?  What's the message here?

And because I can't resist, just like in our world, the Consult is mostly interested in coming into an organization and facilitating mass downsizing. :-) 

Wilshire

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« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2014, 01:01:54 am »
Consult, Noun: an act of consulting a professional; a consultation.

Its a consult between the inchoroi and the Mangecca.
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Francis Buck

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« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2014, 02:17:19 am »
The question now is, who's the professional? At first it was almost certainly the Inchoroi, but it was the Mangaecca that made it all possible, Shauriatas in particular, he seems -- so far -- the de-facto leader of the Consult (maybe co-leader with Aurang/Aurax and Mekeritrig).

Ozark

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« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2014, 03:04:14 am »
Why Consult?

Because Liaison sounds too wimpy.

SilentRoamer

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« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2014, 10:02:45 am »
The question now is, who's the professional? At first it was almost certainly the Inchoroi, but it was the Mangaecca that made it all possible, Shauriatas in particular, he seems -- so far -- the de-facto leader of the Consult (maybe co-leader with Aurang/Aurax and Mekeritrig).

I'm not so sure of this. Oh don't get me wrong - he thinks he is the leader, as shown in TFS. TFS does show us that Aurang seemed to hold little regard for Shaes authority.

Personally I say Aurax is the big dick around the Consult.

Garet Jax

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« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2014, 02:41:47 pm »
Personally I say Aurax is the big dick around the Consult.

Physically or metaphorically? 

Wilshire

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« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2014, 09:06:47 pm »
Physically or metaphorically? 
Obviously ;)
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Francis Buck

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« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2014, 05:14:39 am »
Heh.

While I'm not sure if Aurax is the legit King of the Consult (honestly I don't think there truly is a single ruler), I definitely believe he has a lot of secrets for us, and to me seems like an even MORE important character due to his lack of appearances (TWP-epilogue possibly aside). Much like Shauriatas, or even Mekeritrig, his mysterious absence from the series, even five books in, implies to me that there's a very good reason we're seeing so little of the inner-workings of the Consult -- which, in-and-of-itself, makes it seem that Aurang is somehow deprived of important info, though I suspect it may be just because he really hasn't been at Golgotterath in a long time. I think matters move slowly with the Consult -- they literally have every interest in the world to wait until the EXACT opportune moment. The entrance of the Dunyain into the field of play, and more importantly an Anasurimbor, has forced the Consult to play their hand. This is the reason for their "observance of prophecies true and false", since they both can work with the coming of an Anasurimbor -- be it Mimara or Kellhus or both.

Wilshire

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« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2014, 01:28:46 pm »
The Consult now make me think of lawyers. Lawyers = future Inchoroi.
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profgrape

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« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2014, 04:13:21 pm »
I could have sworn that somewhere in PON is a scene where we're told that it takes a handful of sorcerers to keep Aurang in his Synthese  body.  If that's true, it follows that Aurang is still in close contact with his Consult homeboys.

On a related note, I'd always assumed that the Consult's HQ is in Golgotterath -- how about you all?

Wilshire

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« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2014, 04:36:39 pm »
I seem to recall that as well... I wonder if Shae counts as a handful of sorcerers with his extra bodies?

I agree about golgotterath.
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profgrape

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« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2014, 06:52:47 pm »
I found it -- it's in TTT.  The context is different from what I remembered, though.  It's when Khellus is talking to Esme-Aurang

Quote
"Across the world in Golgotterath," Khellus gasped, still stamping out the coals of his manic lust, "the Mangaecca squat about your true flesh, rocking to the mutter of endless Cants."

As Esme-Aurang doesn't dispute his assertion, it seems likely that it's true (how Khellus knows all this is another question, however).  This points to Aurang being in close contact with the mothership throughout the series.

To Wilshire's point, that description sounds an awful lot like Shae, indeed.  :)


mrganondorf

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« Reply #12 on: November 04, 2014, 12:18:50 pm »
i'm confused about Shae's place--in The False Sun, he seems replaceable, but in TUC ch 1 excerpt, Akka dubs him as 'Lord of the Consult' presumably from Akka's knowledge of Seswatha's interactions with the Consult

why "Consult"?  maybe Bakker knew that no word would do for what he had in mind, so he was just going to have to pick one and begin filling it like a basket full of ominous fruit (the thing he wrote about the word 'Shimeh') - maybe someone bet him he couldn't turn that word into a word of certain doom - Bakker convinced me!  i can't hear the word without thinking of Earwan meanings first

profgrape

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« Reply #13 on: November 04, 2014, 08:52:27 pm »
i'm confused about Shae's place--in The False Sun, he seems replaceable, but in TUC ch 1 excerpt, Akka dubs him as 'Lord of the Consult' presumably from Akka's knowledge of Seswatha's interactions with the Consult

According to the timeline, about a thousand years elapses between TFS and TFA.  Plenty of time for the nervous schemer of TFS to become the "Lord of the Consult".  Still, it's impressive that a human ends up leading over luminaries such as Aurang, Aurax, Mekertrig and (maybe) Nin'Janjin.

Triskele

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« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2014, 03:48:44 am »
Good call on remembering Nin'janjin.  I would think he's long since joined, but we'll see.

Just another thought on the origins of the use of "Consult:"  they're consulting one another on how to best save their souls.