ATDTDA (5.4) - Bad Ice After Midnight

[Ya Sam]

I think Pynchon is just piling on layers of (often contradictory, but also 
significant)
>descriptions here.

So maybe speculating about these levels will help us to get back into the 
groove. I agree, Tore, there is a strong iconagraphic context to it, as I'm 
re-reading that portion once again. But of course, the odalisque fits in 
with other Turkish references in AtD, such as the notorious 'Turkish 
Corner'.
The image is very unclear as it is produced by the Special Ray Generator 
which helps us to view the nunatak 'in a different light'. Looking into 
another dimention? First of all there are inscriptions rushing upward, a 
sort of warning. The only upward running inscriptions that I know are The 
Star Wars credits, could this be an ironic reference?
OK, then there is 'Mongoloid' and  'serpent-like' facial features. Well, the 
Arabs are not Mongoloid as far as I know, and this description baffles me. 
The hidden and potentially dangerous serpent is a wide-spread trope, can be 
found in many myths. Just off the top of my head: Euridice stung by a snake 
and the Slavic prince Oleg killed by a snake hidden in the skull of his 
horse. Then we have the mythic parallel by the scholars of Edda, who refer 
to the god Buri frozen in the ice 'till being licked awake by the mythic cow 
Audumla'.
And then the bilocated Magyakan comes. What is he talking about? Who are 
they? They trespassed into the human world in which 'humans are the only 
source of food'. What are these weapons 'we've never seen before' and 
'perhaps we think they are toys'? The most obvious: a highjacked plane used 
as a weapon could be something we haven't seen before, although I'm not 
sure, it was in the movies, right?
Anyway, I think there is much to discuss.

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! 
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/