So the Shrike is an angel. <hear me out>
<some spoilers ahead for Hyperion and Rise of Hyperion>
So last month I handed in a BA thesis to my university, a literary analysis of Hyperion or more specifically, the Shrike and its role.
My argument for the paper was that when you strip away the books given origins for the Shrike (muddled as they are), the Shrike actually begins to fall more into the role of that of an angel or at the very least a divine being. Essentially the Cult of the Shrike has the right of it, except they didn't understand its full purpose.
I based my work on the depictions of angels as they were presented in the old testament, not as beings of pure goodness but rather as something that at times is rather horrifying... Think of the Destroying Angel of the 10th plague for example. They often test the faith of the humans they encounter through various means.
In this sense, the Shrike's presence can be seen as undertaking a divine mission of sorts. Its horrible murder of anyone who ventures near the Time Tombs as well as the strange encounters it has with the pilgrims is merely its ongoing mission to ensure that events unfold exactly as the UI intended (God). Although whether that is the Machine UI or the Human one (or Both) is up for debate. Given the time travel and timeline entanglements this becomes even more complicated.
To support my argument I had an in depth look at three of the pilgrim's tales and how the Shrike in essence forces those people to confront their relationship with their faiths and/or moral framework, making or breaking them in the process.
Without going into specifics, my argument was that Paul Duré (while not a pilgrim but crucial to the story) is already a man about to lose his faith in the Catholic church, dying at the time of the novel. His crime of apostasy and faking archeological evidence to drum up interest in the church very much resembles a saint's hagiography where the saint to be is tested through sin and divine trials. The shrike's "offer" of false immortality through the cruciform causes Duré to rediscover his faith and accept the fact that things must die (he and the Church both) if they are to be reborn to live again. His self crucifixion is his final answer to the Shrike, choosing pain and suffering in order to do what is right by his faith. His reward is ironically enough his resurrection some years later and his ascension to pope.
Col. Kassad was my second pilgrim where I argued that Kassad was a man straying from his twin-allegiances to that of Islam and of the in-world concept of Neo-Bushido. Within both teachings we can find examples of how a warrior is supposed to behave (moral, merciful, righteous) which is something Kassad initially appears as with his dedication to honest warfare but is revealed later to love the alternative. He loves violence, earning the moniker "The Butcher of Bressia" for his absolute drive to win, to fight and to maim.
Kassad's "angelic visitation" then comes in the form of Moneta or the "Moneta/Shrike" hybrid. Whenever he is performing like a good, valiant soldier, she arrives and they have sex. After the battle of Bressia however, she does not and Kassad only mentions that he thinks he hears her call his name. This indicates a punishment of sort for his transgressive, violent acts. This is immediately reinforced following the battle on the Hospital ship where he once again fights not because he loves it but because he has to. After landing on Hyperion, they meet for real and have sex again. It's important to remember that each of these sexual encounters are described like a euphoric and dreamlike thing, something akin to an angelic visitation. The final fight where Kassad fights against the ouster remnants using the time-dilation effect, a completely dishonorable act according to both his moral codes, again brings out the love of violence in him. The ousters are butchered without mercy or fairness. And the result? The following sex-scene with Moneta turns into a nightmare... the "angel", Moneta/Shrike, reveals itself fully and punishes him for his wickedness... or perhaps in Kassad's case gives him one final warning. Kassad flees from the scene and becomes a pacifist. He is still a warrior, but now one that fights ONLY when he must and when it is just. War is bad.
My third pilgrim was Sol Weintraub. His "Binding of Isaac" story is basically a retelling of the Akedah and as such the Shrike steps into the role of messenger for God, demanding the sacrifice. This is evident through the attention to the eyes and later the allusion to the "Golem" myth. For those of you that don't know, the Golem was a mythological creature brought to life by a human rabbi, although with divine methods. This ties in nicely to the idea of the Shrike being manufactured (a robot) but also with one foot in the realm of the divine. Sol's entire trial with the Shrike is for him to stop denying his Jewish heritage and to approach God on equal footing, re-negotiating their relationship.
"There will be no more sacrifices."
I made further allusions to the Shrike's possible divine nature by examining its physical form. Its metallic surface especially is worth mentioning as it serves dual purposes. Angels in the Bible were sometimes said to be "bathed in the Lord's splendor/light" which to me sounds an awful lot like shifting metal which reflects light. We even get treated to such a scene a couple of times... think back to Duré's encounter with the Shrike among the Bikura where it reflected the dim red glow of the cruciforms... or later when Lenar Hoyt dies in the time-tombs. Flames erupt below and reflect on the shrike, giving it during that scene a more "inferal" or perhaps devilish appearance... a punisher. His death scene is him essentially being consigned to hell for his failures.
I wanted to write about the other pilgrims as well in my paper, but alas my word limit prohibited me from doing so. In particular I wanted to examine the characters of Martin Silenus, who can effectively be said to have entered into a non-verbal Faustian bargain with the entity. The Shrike here would have taken the role of Mephistopheles... not an angel but the devil himself. An examination of angels/devils as beheld by pagans would have been very fun to do, especially so as Martin is one of the only protagonists we see the Shrike directly "punish" for the wrong action. He refused to stop writing the cantos and wound up on the tree of thorns, if only temporarily.
I don't know what angles I would have taken with the rest of the pilgrims if given the chance. The Consul for example is the only one who declares himself an atheist, so it would have been interesting to contrast his encounter with an "angel" through the eyes of one such. Although if memory serves, Brawne Lamia declares at one point that she does not "succumb" to religion, indicating atheism... or at the very least agnosticism. Ironic, given how she essentially gives birth to someone that becomes a savior figure which ultimately ensures the creation of "God". Het Masteen and his quasi-druidic Templar faction would have been equally interesting to explore, but alas we get precious little information about him in those first two books. His intended role as "captain of the tree of thorns" would have warranted examination at the very least.
What are your thoughts on all this?