Argo Cycle 3: The Argo and Its Mythic World
G. The Argo & Argonauts (Primordial Aspects)
The Argo and its Argonauts represent a complex system operating across multiple realities and timelines. Central is the Ship Argo, a foundational vessel acting with apparent intention [D:21], known under names and descriptions including Navicula Petri [A:44], Abd-Aliah's flagship [M:404], the Brunhilde [D:21; M:404], Land of Behest [M:404], Flying Serpent, Catherine, and Salle du Roi [M:404–405]. Archipelago adds the possible names Aral ('hindrance'), Bumi ('of the world'), and Aragh ('the direction') used for a canoe that the Sergeant (Finnegan) identified as the Argo [A:89]. It has a unique horn sound [M:6] and varies physically, fitting small slips yet sometimes standing as tall and long as any ocean craft; some suppose it is only the Great Ship’s boat [M:403]. It also sails outside the cosmos [M:437]. The Argo navigates different realities like the Sea of the Seven Lost Years [M:470] (connected to the Sea of Amnesia by a hidden strait [M:406]) and facilitates travel through time [M:413, M:470]. Its interior includes locations like the 'Bread and Wine Room' [M:403], and it carries potent relics: a fragment of the Talking Oak in its wheel [M:403–404], Noah’s molar [M:403–404], the recovered Holy Grail (Sancgreal), and the Lord’s Table from the Cenaculum [M:422]. Log entries require interpretation [M:411], and it serves as a questing vessel, a “Hope Ship” [M:405], and even a "show boat" [M:405]. It has endured periods under 'evil men' [M:404] but remains tied to divine missions [M:402].
The Argonauts are the core crew. Among them are the Dirty Five—Iason (Finnegan), Peleus (Casey), Orpheus (Hans), Meleager (Vincent), and Euphemus (Henry) [A:38–39]. They embody recurring mythic archetypes, listed in Archipelago: Finnegan as Dionysus/Ulysses/Terras/Arracht, Hans as Apollo/Aquinas Redivivus/Dr. Faustus, Henry as Friar Tuck/Pantegruel/Giant of the Beanstalk, Vincent as Mercurius/Don Vincent de Ollos/Austin, Casey as Kasmir Gorshok [A:39]. They are a "mystic society" [A:38], "very close and unsunderable" [A:38], sometimes experiencing amnesia [A:39]. Their unique origins involve being of the 'other blood' [A:39; M:169–170], a different race that cuts across races [D:156], or 'Animated Marvels' [M:162, M:446]. Finnegan is specifically a changeling [A:39, A:175] and identifies as a Teras [A:258]. Key figures include Melchisedech Duffey, the pilot, Boy King [M:17], King of Salem [M:166], known for his golden touch [M:5], mind-invasion [M:5, M:16], talisman creation [M:18, M:119, M:165], multiple childhoods [M:6], and the 'Urchin' disguise [M:18]. Biloxi Brannagan is the Australian seaman linked to St. Brandon [D:206; M:413], who waits decades for the Argo [M:409], and who inspires Marie Monaghan's "Uncle Biloxi Brannagan" anecdote [A:25]. The Argonauts share traits like longevity [M:409] and access to parallel realities [M:470]. Finnegan also bears a wrist mark associated with the other blood [D:10, D:156]. Their purpose involves sacred quests (Golden Fleece [M:179, M:234], Grail/Lord’s Table [M:422]) and opposing cosmic adversaries like the Laughing Prince [M:437] and other adversaries [M:437]. Their motto appears in variations, including two found in Archipelago: Ubicumque fuerit corpus illic congregabuntur et aquilas [A:44] and Aquilae congregabunt dumque In nostram memoriam quotiescumque [A:91].
Catholic themes, figures, and concepts are integral, providing a deep structure and moral framework. This extends beyond general spirituality to encompass specific elements: Thomistic philosophical distinctions (Time/Aeon/Eternity [M:468–469]), references to saints (e.g., Augustine, Jerome, Peter, Paul, Francis de Sales, Jude, Casimir [A:44–45, A:271; D:233; M:422, M:535–536]), specific liturgical references (the Gradual for marriage [A:113]), and a pervasive, often traditionalist (pre-Vatican II) theological sensibility, frequently employed, however, with Lafferty's irony [M:27, M:194]. The cycle tracks struggles with grace, sin, virtue, and free will through its Argonauts.
H. Mythic Objects / Locations / Events
Golden Fleece: Salvation. The object of the primary Argo quest, sought and successfully found by the Argonauts [M:179, M:234]. Recovered from Colchis, it represents a key objective tied to their mythic origins under Iason (Finnegan) [A:39, M:234]. Combings from it yield powerful golden fabrics or materials [M:443], such as those used by Casey Gorshok to create gear for Melchisedech's bones [M:443]. The power of the Fleece is echoed in Melchisedech Duffey’s own golden touch [M:5].
Terrestrial Paradise: A specific location in the Antilles (Longitude 61°44'42" W, Lat 16°00'00" N) [D:234], identified with Basse-Terre [D:235]. It is distinct from Heavenly Paradise and contains residual dangers like snakes [D:235]. It served as a haven for Finnegan and his companions [D:233–236]. Le Marin explains its island nature via a scriptural riddle concerning the four rivers [D:234]. Finnegan also imagines St. Kitts as his "terrestrial paradise" [A:272], a place he hopes to reach [D:273–274]. Ignacio associates St. Kitts with a landfall of Columbus [A:272].
Devil's Grave: The shared burial site of Ifreann Gregorovitch and Papadiabolous I [D:284, D:288], located in the narrative of The Devil Is Dead. Its tombstone is marked I.N.C.G.P. Bogovitch [D:277], interpreted as a euphemism for Chortovitch (Son of the Devil) [D:277–278]. Finnegan knows its exact location [D:156]. Separately, Stein’s notes link the Devil’s imprisonment (A.D. 946–1946) and release to historical epochs and the concept of nostalgia [M:185].
Holy Grail: The Sancgreal. Its recovery is listed among the Argonauts’ discoveries [M:422].
Lord's Table: Recovered from the Cenaculum in Jerusalem, it is now in the Bread and Wine Room on the Argo [M:422].
Sword & Scabbard of St. Sécaire: A uniquely perilous artifact deliberately lost multiple times by the Argo Masters [M:422]. It was welded shut: drawing it an inch would send two-thirds of humanity into a deep sleep, fatal unless it was quickly resheathed; drawing it completely would end the world [M:423]. The Dimbeau brothers' recovery of it required intervention by Duffey and Brannagan, who ultimately contrived to lose it again in the Nine Mile Depth [M:422-424].
Creation Myths: Finnegan recounts the mythic origins of island groups: Aegean islands from a smashed Electrum cup, Malayan from a broken bronze bowl, and Papuan from great sea turtles tearing a woven mat [A:35]. This establishes the Pentanesia concept – a cluster of five magic islands (like Naxos and its neighbors: Andros, Tinos, Paros, Amargos, Naxos) [A:35]. Hans adds that 'archipelago' originally signified the great sea, not the islands within it [A:35].
Black Papua / Well of the World: A specific locale in New Guinea visited by the Dirty Five during WWII, rife with dense, vertical jungle terrain (close creeks, bluffs, tangled roots, waterfalls, caves) and tribes (Papuans, Kiriwinans) [A:36-37]. Metaphorically, it is Papuan collective unconscious – the 'Well of the World' – a psychic space containing and sustaining other cultures within it [A:37]. The narration portrays the Papuans as full of spooks, making nightly journeys to purgatory, apathetic in daytime, and dependent on the Kiriwinans for building [A:37].
Seven Lost Years / Sea of Seven Lost Years: An interval outside linear time associated with Melchisedech Duffey, also called the Seven Golden Years [M:300]. The Sea of the Seven Lost Years can be re-entered from different points of Duffey’s life [M:445]. Some talisman bestowals are associated with Duffey’s "hidden years," including the gift for Casey [M:120–121]. The Argo itself navigates the corresponding Sea of the Seven Lost Years [M:406].
Problem of Evil: A central theme, called "the only problem in the world" by Casey [A:154]. The novel’s account of Pythagoras catalogs its aspects (unlimited, odd, multitude, left, female, motion, curved, darkness, oblong) versus those of good (Limit, even, one, right, male, rest, straight, light, square) [A:154]. The narration calls it a "devouring one" while quoting Pope’s master-passion image [A:154], and Amos questioned its relation to divine will [A:154]. Casey quotes early Augustine’s former belief that "some being of a different kind" committed sin in us [A:154].
The Fall: The origin of the current world state, leaving a "sad legacy" of the struggle between good and evil [M:177]. Henry Salvatore attributes some of his "incomplete feelings" to this "fallen nature of man" [A:187].
Speaking Oak of Dodona: A fragment of talking oak resides in the Argo's wheel [M:403–404]. At the railroad station, Finnegan has a piece he says he stole from a ship’s prow, alongside a race track ticket mistaken for a railroad ticket [A:244].
I. Repeating Metaphysical Concepts
Multiple Persons Within PERSON: Characters contain multiple selves, reflecting psychological depth and perhaps literal multiplicity. This aligns with concepts discussed via C. G. Jung (Ego, Self, Shadow, Anima, Animus) and Havelock Ellis (‘Law of Intellectual Constancy’) [M:477]. This manifests through doubles or fetches like Finnegan’s Doppio di Pinne [D:121, A:111, A:174], alternate life narratives such as Duffey's multiple childhoods [M:6], layered identities (Argonaut/Mythic/Human, detailed for the Dirty Five in Archipelago [A:39]), and the awareness of separate simultaneous lives, such as Finnegan and Theresa's alternate marriage [A:203]. Finnegan embodies this multiplicity, experiencing himself as a "stranger inside" [A:92], having an "upper and a lower life" [D:11], or engaging in internal dialogue between selves [D:90]. When the Sergeant (Finnegan) loses his name in Ward 14, he feels he could identify with any of the Dirty Five, suggesting permeable boundaries [A:72, A:83–84]. This connects to the idea of an 'other human race' or 'double blood' [A:39] and 'dual manifestations' [D:213]. Rafelson describes the "overlapping of the human persons" in the core narrative [M:148].
Amnesia: Forgetfulness is common in the cycle, particularly afflicting the Argonauts [A:39], and often seems linked to the trauma of shifting between realities or lives, or to encountering overwhelming power or information. Finnegan’s dramatic forgetting of his own name while waiting to leave for home [A:71-74] and Finnegan’s uncertainty over how much Seaworthy remembers after burying Papadiabolous I [D:77] are key narrative examples. The novel says that "an amnesia" seals off the Argonauts from the great things they did long ago [A:39]. Reflecting this thematic importance, the Sea of Amnesia is an actual location accessible via the Argo, connected by a hidden strait to the Sea of the Seven Lost Years [M:406].
Ghostliness: The narrative world is permeated by ghostliness, blurring life and death. Characters like Duffey exist post-mortem [M:443]. Finnegan feels like a "defective ghost" who has misplaced his soul [A:56]. Interactions with ghosts or ghostly phenomena occur, as in Ward Fourteen, where Finnegan discusses ghosts with Private Gregory [A:85, A:87] and Ignatius Ti relates local beliefs about ghosts and the dead returning at midnight [A:86]. This quality is part of the nature of being human, making the entire cycle 'A GHOST STORY' [M:475] and suggesting people themselves are inherently ghostly ("All the people are ghostly") [M:479]. Private Gregory equates ghosts with devils [A:84] and describes possessed men as "shells inhabited by ghosts" [A:85]. Black Papua is as full of spooks and ghost stories [A:37].
Talismanic Creation: A core ability of the Magus Melchisedech Duffey is the creation or activation of persons ('Animated Marvels') through talismanic devices [M:5, M:18]. These talismans, representing "special gifts or blessings or graces or formations" [M:18], can be golden sticks [M:120] or may derive from Argo relics, such as its gold filigree [M:178–179]. Specific talismans were given for Casey [M:120] and Giulio Solli's son (Finnegan) [M:47]. However, Duffey seemed to lose this power during one episode of his life [M:120]. The Animated Marvels (including the Dirty Five) are bound together by this shared origin [M:178].
Time Stasis / Non-Linearity / Moment: Time is fluid and non-linear. Characters and the Argo move between standard chronology, the Seven Lost Years (a realm with different temporal rules [M:71]), and the Pristine World (a faster, essential reality distinct from the 'Molasses World' [M:279]). Earlier times can be revisited [M:470], while Duffey insists that only the present and future can be changed [M:413]. The narrative distinguishes between Time (measure of material change), Aeon (measure of non-material duration), and Eternity (the perfect, abiding instant) [M:468–469]. Bagby describes his life after death as moment without duration [M:248]. This temporal fluidity is exemplified by the Lotus Eaters bar where it is "always afternoon" with a painted clock and a calendar fixed on one date [A:16, A:29], and debated in Vincent's theory of the Uncreated Creation (world created 10 minutes ago with false memories) [A:56-57] and Finnegan’s counter-argument that the world "hasn't happened yet" [A:57]. Finnegan's "year lived twice" further illustrates this malleability [A:246].
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