but it's an essence with two manifestations, right?

[asakiyume]

First, have a quote from Railsea

What, above all, about wood?

That is the key mystery. Wood makes trees trees. Wood is also what makes ties--those bars crosswise between railsea rails--ties. A thing can have only one essence. How can this, then, be?

Of all the philosophers' answers, three stand out as least unlikely.

--Wood & wood are, in fact, appearances not withstanding, different things.

--Trees are creations of the devil that delights in confusing us.

--Trees are the ghosts of ties, their gnarled & twisted & dreamlike echoes born when parts of the railsea are damaged & destroyed. Transubstantiated matter.

--China Miéville, Railsea, pp. 249-50.

Now, do you see my problem? I do love Railsea, and this quote is virtuoso storytelling fun, but I'm afraid Miéville has his logic mixed up here. If wood is the essence of trees, and wood is the essence of ties, then both those things have a single essence--namely, wood. It's an essence with two manifestations. To express this elegant confusion and not fall foul of logic, he could simply have said, "How could an essence like wood have two such different manifestations?" (but in more baroque, Railsea-esque language) and then gone on with his three great possibilities.

Still loving the story, though!

And now back to work.

Comments

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Then who goes around replacing all the railway ties? Or is there some other reason that they don't need to be renewed?

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The rails are maintained, at least out in the open railsea, by rail "angels"--supernatural beings? Maybe. Not many have actually seen them.

But there's rail close in by where people live, too, and I'm not sure what we're meant to think about how that's maintained. And furthermore, from what I've seen of how much maintenance the rail line by my house needs, I think Miéville is direly underestimating how much goes on, and therefore how present the "angels" would need to be.

It's all in an impossibly distant future, and maybe things have changed, but yeah, this detail, while fun to read, did kind of shatter my suspension of disbelief.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Rail angels: another fascinating idea!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I think so too! Looking forward, I hope, to running into some, later in the book.

[selidor]

Rail angels are terrifying. Maybe that's why people don't talk about them much in Railsea-world?

As, I suspect, most angels probably are.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I think you're probably right in your reasoning--that, and, as I say, most people don't see them. So far in the story, only on person has talked about actually seeing them, and the hero has seen photographic evidence, he thinks.

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

I like the third explanation best. Glad you like the book - I'll be interested to see you take on other Mievilles.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Oh, so enjoying it. (And speaking of enjoying--thank you for your email! I will respond soon...)

As for other Miévilles, given my reading speed and all the books I'd like to read, not sure when I'll get to them, but I am curious, myself, I must say!

[coffeesvp.livejournal.com]

You may have discovered the first instance of a rail angel in our time.
http://asakiyume.livejournal.com/550683.html

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Aha! Even in our time, they are working! I knew not of what I wrote, back then!