It tells us that this was intended as a transition from Tyrathect to Flenser, that Vinge was concerned it was abrupt, and that on reconsideration he decided it was not. This note and answer are both from Vinge. QU Is this transition to Flenser too abrupt? NO 21Jan91 Just after that last paragraph author Note 921 reads The masculine pronoun there is a sign that it's Flenser again. But just after Tyrathect reflects on her experience with the cliffs, the very last paragraph starts ' He turned'. In Chapter 30 Tyrathect is firmly in control using the radios. I looked into the annotated edition for some clues and came away a little unsatisfied. I think it's partly just a slight weak spot in the writing and editing. I just read this (for the third time) and was struck by how awkward the Flenser / Tyrathect resolution seemed to be.

How did this happen? Was Tyrathect simply wrong, or did Flenser somehow learn to adjust? She speculates that this was perhaps because Flenser never walked between cliffs, and therefore never learned how to compensate his thought speech.įlenser is in complete control of the pack, despite near-constant use of the radio cloaks. Using the radio cloaks sends the Flenser personality into unconsciousness. She finds that her time spent near the cliffs allows her to make the necessary adjustments to work with the radio, and is pleased to discover that She finds that the radio delay makes it difficult to communicate within the pack, but the effect is similar to the echos walking between some cliffs she lived near caused with thought speech. When the radio cloaks are developed, Tyrathect wears the first prototype. OL1975714W Page_number_confidence 93.In A Fire Upon the Deep, the pack known as FlenserĪvoids total death by hiding two of its members in the pack of one of its followers, Tyrathect.

OL25046005M Openlibrary_subject long_now_manual_for_civilization Openlibrary_work Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 15:59:34.84511 Bookplateleaf 0010 Boxid IA1145418 City New York Donorīostonpubliclibrary Edition 1st trade pbk.

A fire upon the deep