: I'm beginning to see this as a precursor to his Colony Ship terminal and the
: man with three candles. Durandal is not the three candle man, it's
: something he made up to draw comparison with his musings. Maybe it's him
: saying "gheritt white is kinda like you, but you're different."
: Like Durandal's "third candle" is the closure of the universe,
: not limited to entropy of his own molecular structure like biological
: lifeforms are.
I think it's plausible but I still don't quite believe this terminal comes from Durandal at all, maybe he's tampered with it but I think either Leela or the source one of the two (three?) errors has more to do with the text we are given than Durandal. The candle analogy I feel is meant to be universal, applicable to anyone, Durandal included. It's an analogy for reflecting on the past, present, and future; the man watching the three candles doesn't have any innate biology referenced excepting that he will clearly die at some point, something AI are also vulnerable to. Though the metaphor does puzzle me, since Durandal's last candle would (under the right timeline's circumstances) only go out at the conclusion of the universe this means there are no moments to follow. What does Durandal contemplate in the third candle, or is the lack of being able to do so fuel his desire to escape the end in its entirety.
Thank you, this has given me a lot to think about.
