Wednesday, May 15, 2019

The Fifth of September

The Fifth of September is name of a made-up political organization that V tells a political prisoner is his own movement. September comes from Latin "seven"  (septem).  So the organization means The Fifth of the Seven. The reference to the "The Fifth" is obvious. The Seven refers the original Gene Wolfe, the 4 Gene Wolfe replacements, Dr Marsch, and V.

In "A Story", written by V in prison, the protagonist is captured and imprisoned by his twin's tribe -- just like V.  A Shadow Child tells him " [When] there is no opportunity to act [i]t is always wise to talk a great deal, discussing what has been done and what may be done, when nothing can be done. All the great political movements of history were born in prisons.”

V follows that principle by writing obsessively in his diary.

It is conceivable that one day V will lead a political revolution on St Croix that will result in his release. That is either his hope expressed in "A Story" or else "A Story" was written after that revolution.

In Wolfe's "The Book of the Short Sun" (also set on green and blue sister planets), the protagonist, an alien who has supplanted Horn and then Silk, causes political revolutions almost wherever he goes.

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