ATDTDA (5.1) - The Etienne-Louis Malus

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

             Whatever we (or for that matter Al Qaeda or the conspiracy buff 
             on the corner) may advance as the "causes of" or "reasons  for" 
             9/11, I don't see how they map to "scientists dig up and bring 
             home an ancient artifact, suggestive of pre- or non-human origin,  
             that they should have left untouched."

I recall responding to:

             John Carville:
             . . . .the song contains a hint of the forboding which has 
             attended every mention of the Vormance Expedition so far:

             For we sail
             With no sure returning,
             Into winds
             That will freeze the soul. . . .

             . . . .What are we to make of the fact that the Vormance 
             Expedition, in early mentions, is routinely spoken of in 
             terms which suggest that the reader already knows 
             what will eventually become of it? It's as if it were a 
             famous historical event, of which any reader can 
             reasonably be expected to be aware, as would be 
             the case if Pynchon were talking about, say, the Titanic. 

So, my post was in reference to the vibe that permanently surrounds any 
tale told or re-told concerning the  "Vormance Expedition" in the aftermath 
of that tragedy. One assumes that the novel's narrator is speaking from
some time well after the events in question.