Speculation about the nature of Ed...

[worlebird]

When I think about the way Ed talks, and some of the things that he says, I believe that he actually WAS the original Master Shark, the original Pale Slayer.
Read the book again, and look for the things that Ed says to Nita. It definitely gave me the impression that perhaps he was FAR older than anyone could guess, and that he had ALWAYS been the Pale Slayer in the Song, and had, in fact, been the shark at the original event that became the Song.
What do you think?
Like I said, perhaps everyone already picked this up...

I got the same feeling, though he seemed to be working hard to imply it, not say it.

If he is, then the representative of the Seas lesser death is now both dead, and a wizard. Who knows what that might do...

As to everyone else picking up on it...maybe, maybe not. But either way, articulating it is worthwhile
(and any topic of discussion is appreciated)

[img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

There is no other wisdom, and no other hope for us, but that we grow wise
- Surak of Vulcan

[Rice]

Personally, I found Ed's 'immortal nature' to be pretty strongly implied...not just by him, but by the manual (the old Song listing never used a name...implying either anonymity or continuance) and by Nita in Timeheart (the Pale Slayer who never truly dies...).

The question that's left _completely_ unanswered, though is that of sucession. Ed's dead so who's the new Master Shark and how the heck does it get chosen?

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit."

Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost.

[Ferrica]

Even though Ed has been in the Song many times, and possibly even forever, he is still seen as a candidate for the Song. In DW, S'reee still asks for Ed's consent to participate. If Ed decided not to participate, then they would have had to look for another shark. So after Ed's sacrifice, I guess they would look for another candidate to play the Master Shark. So I think the next candidate might possibly be one of the thousands of sharks who accepted Ed as the Sacrifice. If that happened, I don't know what would be listed in the titles under the manual. Would the manual continue to list remain anonymous or would it start to list the name of the shark? The ambuiguity in all this makes it pretty interesting. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] Perhaps Ed wasn't as immortal as he implied and that he wasn't the original Master Shark, though the way he portrays himself makes us want to believe that he was the orignal Master Shark.

[This message was edited by Ferrica on 06 August 2002 at 20:34.]

[Rysade]

[EWizard11]

It doesn't seem like there to be another shark anything like Ed. He was so HUGE!! How does another Master Shark get picked? Eventually, (though not for a while, I hope) the Song will have to be sung again. The Master Shark plays a pretty big part in the Song. And an ordinary shark won't have the power that Ed had, which means that every shark will come if they smell? (is that the right word?) they're Master's blood in the water. But how important is that? All he has to do is eat the Silent One...

*Ella*

[Alia Elena]

Finding a new Master Shark might be as easy. There may be a shark who's been long recognized as having almost as much power and/or influence as Ed.

Or it might be tougher. If there's no clear successor, some sort of consensus might be needed from all sharks (or representatives thereof) about who should be Master Shark. Or several sharks might declare themselves the new Master, and have to fight it out. Survivor gets to be the Master Shark.

Then there's the out in right field possibilities: no new Master Shark, reincarnation, etc. Unlikely, but possible.

-ae

[Rice]

It's a tricky subject. One might hope for inspiration from above (Ms. Duane??).

While there may be a pseudo-Master waiting in the wings, Ed's talk about the futility of a mate makes that seem unlikely to me. Anyone approaching the Master's power is going to be competition...and competition does not last for long in the Sea.

That being said, some sort of quick, bloody strife for the Mantle among several combatants seems the mostly likely course of action, thematically speaking.

Personally, I'm most stymied by the fact that Ed seems to have been the only shark with any personality. There's a dichotomy in Duane's work where some species seem to contain both sentient and non-sentient members...despite the universal fluency in the Speech.

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit."

Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost.

http://www.geocities.com/booknightmoon

[Hannah :)]

Ed... (isn't it funny how both of the characters in the first two books get their names shortened to something with an "ed" sound, and then die?)... I always got that impression too... And Nita was his release, his way of getting out of the painful cycle of killing and not being loved, and doing it again... ALways the killer in the eyes of the ocean and never the victim, even though he was the biggest victim of them all and ultimately their saviour (for a short time, at least...)

Hannah xx

http://timeheart.fateback.com

'Felis Catus is your taxonomic nomenclature. An endothermic qaudroped, carniverous by nature.'

I believe Ed was the master shark every time he said something it seemed like all eyes were on him which only comes from being old and very respected.

I am sad he died people have died in the boooks
Fred,Ed,Nita's Mom,Pralaya anybody else know of another person who has gone to Timehart

RIP All WHO GO TO TIMEHART

*Nita*

[TheClone]

I believe ed Was the pale slayer. So they did put his name. Putting Pale Slayer as Himself would be funny though. And I thought that The Lone One accepted his sacrifice when he eat him out of reflex.

[TheClone]

Also I thought that the thousands of sharks killed the serpent, killing a part of death itself.

[Quill]

I also got the impression that Ed had been the Master Shark since the Song was first sung. As for a successor, speculation seems to be the limit. Not enough data was given about shark social structure (assuming there is one, even) to know how another Master would emerge. Heck, are there shark wizards? Seems a bit contrary to their nature.

Inside every cynic there's an idealist desperately yearning to be let out, and when they are let out they're usually a real pain and cause all sorts of trouble. --Chris Boucher

[Gabrielle-GabbyoftheMoon]

Just a little something..but in the end of Deep Wizardry wasn't Nita on the beach and noticed another large shark??? (I always figured it was Ed's successor...) Yeah, I did always think Ed was the original...It seems like a reincarnation kind of thing.

GabbyoftheMoon

"How far apart were the cars at the time of the collision?"-a lawyer

"Every man is a moon, and has a dark side he never shows anyone."-Mark Twain

"If Time has a heart, it is because all other hearts stop."-A Wizard's Dilemma