Unresolved things in the Baroque Cycle
Jun. 12th, 2012 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackEnoch Root
So what WAS up with Enoch Root?
Several hints I missed the first time are pretty clear on rereading, that Enoch was Egon von Hackleheber, and the Hacklehebers thought he was something other than human somehow.
As best as I could tell, he and Solomon Kahn are presented as probably something other than human. But he does have normal human feelings and failings, and doesn't have great magic powers other than his knowledge of the gold and his knack for long-term plans.
It seems he has some heavy gold which rescues him from accidents, but he's immortal even without that, does that seem right?
He always turns up at the right place and at the right time, but it's not clear if this is (a) just good planning (b) something supernatural or science-fictional or (c) a narrative convention.
He seems to have some sort of hotline to the mysteries of the universe, but in terms of what he DOES, he seems to promote rationalism, scientific progress, egalitarianism, etc.
It's suggested that Enoch and Solomon may be Enoch and Solomon from the bible, but I'm not sure if it's ever established that they ARE. Though it _would_ fit the "I am an anomoly in history, don't pay attention to me, I just want technological progress..."
The Heavy Gold
The heavy gold has supernatural properties. A big cache of it was found on some islands, which may or may not connect to the biblical story of solomon.
It doesn't seem to be a heavy isotope of gold (since it's too stable), it's heavy for some other reason.
Does the punch-card gold show up again in Cryptonomicon? I remember lots of gold with mysterious markings, did some of it have holes punched in or not?
It seems Stephenson deliberately left some things ambiguous, and left some things very obscure, but basically reliable once you spot them (there's definitely connections between Cryptonomicon and Baroque Cycle which aren't blatant) -- but I'm not sure which the nature of Enoch Root and the gold are.
http://www.cafeaulait.org/cryptonomicon.html had some very interesting speculation earlier in the series, but I don't think the author has updated it for the end of the last book, so we'll have to do our own thinking.
http://rec.arts.sf.written.narkive.com/3TlGNijF/system-of-the-world-illuminates-cryptonomicon is a random forum thread, but seemes to have some astute observation.
So what WAS up with Enoch Root?
Several hints I missed the first time are pretty clear on rereading, that Enoch was Egon von Hackleheber, and the Hacklehebers thought he was something other than human somehow.
As best as I could tell, he and Solomon Kahn are presented as probably something other than human. But he does have normal human feelings and failings, and doesn't have great magic powers other than his knowledge of the gold and his knack for long-term plans.
It seems he has some heavy gold which rescues him from accidents, but he's immortal even without that, does that seem right?
He always turns up at the right place and at the right time, but it's not clear if this is (a) just good planning (b) something supernatural or science-fictional or (c) a narrative convention.
He seems to have some sort of hotline to the mysteries of the universe, but in terms of what he DOES, he seems to promote rationalism, scientific progress, egalitarianism, etc.
It's suggested that Enoch and Solomon may be Enoch and Solomon from the bible, but I'm not sure if it's ever established that they ARE. Though it _would_ fit the "I am an anomoly in history, don't pay attention to me, I just want technological progress..."
The Heavy Gold
The heavy gold has supernatural properties. A big cache of it was found on some islands, which may or may not connect to the biblical story of solomon.
It doesn't seem to be a heavy isotope of gold (since it's too stable), it's heavy for some other reason.
Does the punch-card gold show up again in Cryptonomicon? I remember lots of gold with mysterious markings, did some of it have holes punched in or not?
It seems Stephenson deliberately left some things ambiguous, and left some things very obscure, but basically reliable once you spot them (there's definitely connections between Cryptonomicon and Baroque Cycle which aren't blatant) -- but I'm not sure which the nature of Enoch Root and the gold are.
http://www.cafeaulait.org/cryptonomicon.html had some very interesting speculation earlier in the series, but I don't think the author has updated it for the end of the last book, so we'll have to do our own thinking.
http://rec.arts.sf.written.narkive.com/3TlGNijF/system-of-the-world-illuminates-cryptonomicon is a random forum thread, but seemes to have some astute observation.