Ted = Goldwurm?

Roy C. Lackey · 03 May 2010, 05:20 · from 2010-May.txt.gz

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From: rclackey at stic.net (Roy C. Lackey)
Date: Mon, 3 May 2010 00:20:08 -0500
Subject: (urth) Ted = Goldwurm?
References: <s2mb12d82081004291556xb8be4071v43aa7e58fb5e8eb9 at mail.gmail.com><004901cae831$eb007e00$c3d24a0c@rclackey><h2wb12d82081004300019p577f47d8h18ff79fa4848f3a2 at mail.gmail.com><005301cae88f$359c8d20$a2d04a0c@rclackey>
	<8CCB822FE0AFB65-20A8-9296 at webmail-m098.sysops.aol.com>
Message-ID: <001701caea80$4fdbd180$2bd24a0c@rclackey>

Peter quoted and wrote:
> > when she introduced herself to Orizia: "This lowly person is called
> Winker
> > Inari." (147) Orizia was miles away in a "trance", her psychic visit.
>
> > Is this significant, or just a mistake by Wolfe? Or is it an obscure
> clue?
> > Or does it say something about the fictional Compiler?
>
> It is not a mistake; Winker is Baxter's name for her. Actually, when she
> introduced herself to Orizia, she said her name was Winkle Inari, but
> she
> was speaking with a Japanese accent ...

Could be. But if so, she can and does turn it on and off. And where did the
Inari come from? Was it really Inali? She had no accent when she phoned Bax
when he was having lunch with Doris and Jake (219), and she spoke words with
a number of "r"s and "l"s. It was only when Bax asked her if she spoke
Chinese that she said, "Riddle bit speak." That was obviously affected.

I will note than during that phone conversation he twice called her Winker.
But when he wrote the above quoted line he attributed it to Winkle. In the
scene I outlined earlier (dream/psychic visit), Orizia seems to have
experienced Winkle/Winker only as a fox, yet Orizia offered her hand when
they introduced themselves. Bax was clearly seeing her as, "the girl who
called herself Winker Inari" (147). In the scene she also spoke the words
"sorry" and "love" without any difficulty. I can't imagine what Orizia saw
when Winker was trying to help pull her through Bax's bedroom window (148).
Was she using teeth or hands?

It's a puzzler.

-Roy

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