GR translation: her glassy wastes

[Michael Bailey]

>>
>> Since I am asking, what does it mean that each of them was "_used_ for
>> the ideology of the Zero"? (P152.16)  What is the "ideology of the
>> Zero" anyway?

remember Pointsman and Pavlov
- extinction of an impulse is the zero, the opposition of zero and one
is Manichaenism (later found in AtD)

- the ideology of the zero encompasses the tendency for there *not* to
be something, or striving for self-extinction like most of the
Hereros; striving for extinction of others like Weissmann,
extinguishing impulses like Pavlov and Pointsman

(implying an ideology of the one, which would be, umm, things like
Pirate's banana breakfast, that witch girl later on, the butler's
smile at that dinner party, Slothrop's harp, maybe even the
Counterforce to some extent...)

and then there's Mexico's realm, the rational and irrational numbers
between zero and one, but that's a different ideology...(again,
looking to AtD)


--- And what is "Nora's great rejection" and why is it so
>> great? (P152.17)

Search me! (kind of 1940-50s US idiomatic for "darned if I know")


--- What is the "Outer Radiance" that Nora saw?

is it a carryover from the segued section about the cells going
epidermal, and the outer radiance in that scene being actual ambient
light which turns surface cells into inanimate things (there's a
certain fascination in _V._ with living flesh vs non-living
fingernails, it crops up several times, and then you've got Wawazume
Life and Non-Life (insurance) in _Vineland_...)

because the text does rapidly segue from the "kindly mentor cell-chick
telling the newbie cell-dude about that whole process", into that Nora
walking into the room and dominating all the radii ---- and indeed,
the fanciful cell-conversation itself spins off rapidly from that
dude's letter to his father...which in turn is explaining the
pigment-control of young Gavin Trefoil (Trefoil being kind of an
interesting thing in itself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trefoil)

so anyway, Nora now that I think of it, seems to have made love
connections with many of the personnel at the White Visitation.

and you get into that contemplation sort of like the chapter in _V._
where Benny Profane is hanging the unused condoms on the doors of the
Catskills resort...the manifold contemplative variations on the theme
of recreational sex versus creational sex...


>> (P153.13)  Clearly these things are closely related to each other and
>> to "her glassy waste", and may have been discussed countless times
>> before.  Or maybe not.  In any case, this this the most difficult
>> episode in part 1 and I might as well ask all the questions now.
>

another sidelight, maybe just a willow-the-wisp ----
but, umm, when a person gets wasted (high on dope) their eyes are
often glassy...