a few preliminary notes, to continue our ledger on figures of thought previously identified:
ideology of innocence: I.15 at 435 (cf. I.2 at 68 & I.3 at 80).
gaming metaphor again (B/G/V): I.15 at 431 ff.), including the nice passage regarding “compromise,” which pulls us back to the benjuka treatise, which i regard as the novel’s center of gravity, I.15 at 433 (cf. I.10 at 300).
more spectres:
where you see a wraith of your nightmares, Schoolman, I see the enemy of my enemy.
(I.15 at 456).
the true implosion of DA’s binaries (cf. I.1 at 38-39):
This was ancient Kyranean soil on which he stood. Here--only buried as though beneath layers. Seswatha had even passed through Momemn once, though it was called Monemora then and was little more than a town. And that, Achamian realized, was the source of his disquiet. Ordinarily, he had little trouble keeping the two ages, the present and the apocalyptic, apart. But this Scylvendi…It was though be bore ancient calamities upon his brow.
(I.15 at 455).
tension of the chapter is built around the
agon of NP and DA, wherein the former is revealed to be not only conclusively philistine but also intellectually dishonest. the opening epigraph records ajencis as
Faith is the truth of passion. Since no passion is more true than another, faith is the truth of nothing.
(I.15 at 430).
for NP, however, this becomes:
“Faith is the truth of passion, Achamian, and no passion is more true than another. And that means there’s no possibility you could speak that I could consider, no fear you could summon that could be more true than my adoration. There can be no discourse between us.
(I.15 at 438). this is of course a heinous (pronounced, like in
my cousin vinny, as high-ANE-us) misrepresentation. NP has turned “faith is the truth of nothing” into “I am not wrong.”
better to loop this ajencian principle back through other writings with which we are familiar through this point:
If it is only after that we understand what has come before, then we understand nothing. Thus we shall define the soul as follows: that which precedes everything.
(I.pro at 1).
To be ignorant and to be deceived are two different things. To be ignorant is to be a slave of the world. To be deceived is to be the slave of another man. The question will always be: Why, when all men are ignorant, and therefore already slaves, does this latter slavery sting us so?
(I.4 at 106).
The world is a circle that possesses as many centers as it does men.
(I.7 at 194).
(one wonders if we will encounter mr. ajencis again in later volumes, so that we might subscribe to his newsletter.) but for now: we might infer that mr. ajencis is a thorough self-defeating nihilist--all persons are ignorant, regard themselves as the center of the universe, whose faith is the truth of nothing, who reject the idea that cognition can occur through retrospective reflection, insisting through definitional fiat on the fictive existence of the soul in order to make comprehension immanent to events, simultaneous understanding--which is nonetheless vitiated by his other principles.
the series title places us on notice that
nihil may well be our central interpretive category. we might discern how this nihilism works itself out in the horrible slave-thrashing/black-semen episode (I.15 at 442-47), as opposed to the earlier equally horrible prostitute-thrashing/black semen episode (I.9 at 256-259):
”What’s this?” he asked sharply. She followed his eyes to the back of her hand.
“Nothing.”
“Really? I’m afraid I’ve seen this ‘nothing’ before. It’s a mockery of the tattoos borne by Gierric Priestesses, no? What they use in Sumna to brand their whores.”
(I.15 at 446). quite literally at this moment, the text affirms that faith (of Gierra) is the truth of this nothing. similarly:
But Achamian remained unconvinced. How did they know the Utemot had been annihilated?
(I.15 at 460). faith (in CuS as kut’ma) is the truth of this nihil. my suspicion now is that the entire volume should be read with this constellation firmly in mind.