Re: Patera Pike's paternity
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However, this adds more bewilderment . . . how could Pike =not= have known? He =must= have known that he had experienced carnal relations with a woman, unless we imagine inhumi succubi/incubi acting as pollinators--and this succubus/incubus notion is shot down by the fact that Rose =knows= who the father is (unless we go further and allow the s/i to physically mimic their victim's love-object).
There may also be a tech solution. All one really needs is some DNA. Perhaps she had access to some Short Sun technology that allowed here to conceive a child from his skin scrapings/hair/whatever.
Before you dismiss this note that the Whorl is rife with relatively high level technology that the Cargo don't understand but still use.
Kieran Mullen