(urth) Patera Incus

[James Wynn]

>> James Wynn-
>> 1) The valet was a male chem.
>
> Gerry Quinn-
> I mixed up Bittersweet's porter and Fulmar's valet, but that doesn't 
> really matter. "Bittersweet had promised to show everyone the wonders 
> she had achieved with an old porter... Incus had wanted to see that"  
> (He wanted to check out the valet too.)

The valet had been altered by Incus. Thus, "satisfaction" at asking how 
long since he had received his wages. Therefore, having already seen the 
chem and knowing full well what the results were, seeing him again was 
just a side issue, as Incus said. And the chem that Bittersweet would 
use was a male too.
"He had wanted very much to see the old porter with _his_ skullplate and 
faceplate removed."

> In his letter he writes "I have been looking forward to a firsthand 
> account from our mutual acquaintance Bee.  Bee himself." My 
> understanding was that he was trying to be discreet in case the letter 
> was intercepted.

Well, Incus was trying to be discreet, but not about that. The message 
that the patera is attempting to convey must have been attempted in both 
letters. That the letter might be intercepted  was a concern, but the 
frustration of getting dense Fulmar to understand something he didn't 
know was the primary concern.

>> James Wynn-
>> 2) Remember that this is the *second* attempt at a letter. I don't 
>> think there's any way the first could be interpreted as relating to 
>> the valet or the experiment.
>
> But how does the first version help your case? (By the way, this is 
> just a quibble about one of your reasons why Incus might be a woman; 
> it doesn't apply to the rest.)

The first letter emphasizes "a woman" and "myself". This is an 
intentional clue as Incus thinks to herself after writing it:
"_Myself_ standing for _I_, as even that fool Fulmar could not help but 
understand."

So the message is "I, a woman".

Wolfe emphasizes this for the reader later when Incus thinks, "_he 
Incus_, would at least have the satisfaction of..."

u+16b9
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