Silk Circles Edition 2Whorl

Curious further adventures in cheek rubbing.... From EXODUS FROM THE LONG SUN, CHAPTER 1 (HARDCOVER), PG 21: (Mint and Remora discover Councillor Potto's body at Bloods.) "Gently at first, then with increased vigor, Maytera Mint rubbed the councillor's cheek. 'This is a chem!'" Love that: "increased vigor." But why? Why does the cheek reveal the artificial body? Why not the arm, the hand, the ear, or whatever? And why o why does rubbing it do the trick? Is Silk, when he habitually repeats this gesture, questioning his own nature? Patrick O'Leary <A HREF="http://members.aol.com/patri10629/index.html">Patrick O'Leary's Home Page</A> *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun.