[Dragaera] Gender imbalance in the Jhereg [_Dzur_ Spoiler]

[Jon Lincicum]

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Philip Hart <philiph at slac.stanford.edu>
> 
> 
> On Wed, 14 Feb 2007, Jon Lincicum wrote:
> >
> > He actually says Yendi and Jhereg. "A Jhereg I would have recognized by
> > his smell." or some such comment follows.
> 
> Ah, good point then - but I'll just claim that's simply the Jhereg's
> mishmash genetics.

Point taken. The genetic factor also makes it that much easier for any Jhereg who would wish to appear unaffiliated to just kind of blend in, however.

> (Incidentally, it strikes me as somewhat odd that Kragar can have the
> genetic or whatever wherewithal to be a Jhereg but Vlad doesn't -
> that given that Dragaerans seem more specialized.)

Well, the House was founded by Dragons... (Dolivar). 

Also, I always think back to the conversation between (Sethra and Vlad?) in /Dragon/ talking about how, in war, Dragons are a lot like Yendi. It seems that when need drives them, Dragons are capable of acting in ways you might not normally expect.  
 
> > He gave up his shot at running Tagichatn's old area--but stayed in the
> > Organization, just at a lower level then he'd had previously. He ended
> > up working for Vlad, and was the first casualty in Vlad's war with
> > Laris. (/Yendi/).
> 
> My point was that if there is an Unhanded Jhereg, Vlad might have
> mentioned it in this context.  As far as I recall there's no suggestion
> anywhere that a Jhereg might join or leave the Organization, a point
> of great interest to Vlad (what's the basis of his link if he leaves
> House Jhereg, for example).  Well, note that Cawti's sorta kinda not
> a Jhereg - nobody says she's now Handless, but then nobody says she
> can't be in the House without reporting to a boss, so I'm not sure
> how to count that.

Vlad himself "joined the Organization" when Kiera set him up working for Nielar in the first place (after his father died). Compare this with the story from /Taltos/ where Vlad describes his father being extremely happy seeing his son in Jhereg colors for the first time.
 
So, what kind of Jhereg was Vlad before he joined the Organization? 

> > Such as the erstwhile Count Soffta, for example?
> 
> Do we know he's not in the Organization?  If there's a Soccer Jhereg,
> who's to say that they couldn't buy him when the Organization is having
> a bad day?
 
Actually, looking into it, Count Soffta is referred to variously as the "Jhereg Representative" and the "Organization Representative"... So he may not be a useful example.
 
> > We do also have the example of Tukko, the ruddy-faced proprieter of the 
> Hammerhead Inn.
> 
> Randomly from the web: "Tukko ran an untaxed shereba parlor in the back of
> his inn, presumably as a part of the Jhereg Organization."

Right. That looks like the Lyorn Records article that I wrote on him....

> > It's never overtly stated that he was a criminal member of the
> > organization--tho Paarfi does hint that it is possible.
> 
> I'll have to see what Paarfi says - if he has to hint, rather than
> just being circumspect and naturally hinty, that counts against me.

The "hint" is just that one of the gamblers in TPG (Chapter 8) makes reference to the fact that Tazendra (et al) in Tukko's Shereba parlor have made "arrangements" to gamble there. (Implying Tukko is paying the Phoenix Guards off, Implying that the game is untaxed, implying that the game is therefore illegal). Since the Organization as we know it generally takes exception to illegal activites they're not getting a cut from, the assumption is that he works for the Organization. 

This string of assumptions is tenuous enough that I'd call it a "hint", however.

To the left, it's possible that Tukko is actually working freelance, and either a) the Organization was looser about such things in those days, or b) that he's a risk taker who's willing to risk the wrath of the Organization in order to keep more of the profits for himself. 

All the same, the hint is mild enough that it's possible the game isn't really illegal at all (and Tukko pays taxes on it), and the lady making the statement to Tazendra is wrong. 

Majikjon