In your view, what does the exechamp represent in Salby's works?
There's an explicit Jed Merlyn thread, like in the books, that ends with him saying he'd like to become human again and "live a normal, mundane life like the rest of us." It's weirdly poignant. He describes this as a mistake, but I can't help but feel like it was a relatively good mistake – like, the alternative would have been even worse, but still less than ideal. Like he would've been better off staying in the bubble.
(The human-identity part of it is basically that the exechamp is what Salby sees, or wants to keep seeing, in the world. Maybe it's meant ambiguously, but there's still something there that's very obvious and I get the sense that Salby is very unashamed of wanting it to be real)
But like, what happens after this part in TNC?
>>> Tomm beheld a widedark with candlewax all madeup cloistered with hallowed men of old staring bore eyes changeable with licks of light from dusty murk of past age, mulled wine sipped among them, coarse taste not relieving, a skull place where Tomm W & exechamp &al. sullied porrum depth therein down culverts of thromeroom chair false spleandor, and Tomm agape "Quite a dour hollow W" and W "Always been mine and theirs down the ages Tomm" "Well I'll drink to that" Tomm not sincerely but the wine was down the gullet. (TNC p. 1961)







