LMB Quote Game

[Caroline Tredez]

Wrong guess. Try again !

[voralfred]

Not in the Dendarii meetings in _WA_ either, it would seem.....
A leetle hint, maybe?

[Caroline Tredez]

Ok, so a little more :

"Everybody's an expert," sighed XXX. "Except me...He ate some yesterday, anyway."

[voralfred]

In _Komarr_, Ekaterin trying to determine what Miles would like to eat?

[Caroline Tredez]

Nope ^^.

[Caroline Tredez]

Ok, one more line :

"Everybody's an expert," sighed XXX. "Except me...He ate some yesterday, anyway."
"How does it taste ?"

So who's XXX, and who ask her for the taste of what ?

[JKCade]

"Everybody's an expert," sighed XXX. "Except me...He ate some yesterday, anyway."
"How does it taste ?"


So who's XXX, and who ask her for the taste of what ?

The book is Falling Free, XXX is Claire. Tony just asked how it tasted, and "he" is Andy the Quaddie baby. This is a nutritional experiment taking place in Claire's quarters.



James

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Had it been

"Everybody's an expert," sighed XXX. "Except me...He eliminated some yesterday, anyway."
"How does it smell?"

So who's XXX, and who asks her for the smell of what ?

then I might have come up with a better conjecture than the bugbutter, plunkin or river fish I was thinking of.

[Caroline Tredez]

Good one, you're up, JKCade.

[JKCade]

...His heart began to lump. What the hell was this doing here...?

Book?
Whose heart is lumping?
What is this?


James

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

...His heart began to lump. What the hell was this doing here...?

Book?
Whose heart is lumping?
What is this?
James

I found this one to be easy.
I immediately thought of Diplomatic Immunity where Miles (heart lumping) discovers the Star Crèche seal, the screaming-bird pattern, on the uterine emulators (LMB calls them replicators) in the hold of the Idris.

Upon checking, I found the exact sentences in the book on page 124 of my hard-cover copy.

[JKCade]

"Easy"? That's what all the women I've dated called me. Or maybe it was "readily accesible"? At any rate, it's better than what the ex-wife still calls me.

You are correct of course! Congratulations! I'll go post the Sherlock now.

James

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

I guess waiting for the new book would take too long. Therefore I've started rereading an available book. By tomorrow I'll probably have a new quote.
Please be patient.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Here you go, guys.

"You're on your own now, boy,"

Who says this to whom in which story/book?

optional bonus question for 1/2 sherlock:
Where exactly is this said?

[voralfred]

Just guessing, but could it be Wencel talking to Ingrey in _HH_?

Wencel is cynical enough to say that, but I have no clear idea where (or I would have checked...)

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Just guessing, but could it be Wencel talking to Ingrey in _HH_?

Wencel is cynical enough to say that, but I have no clear idea where (or I would have checked...)

No.
Keep digging.

[voralfred]

Keep digging.

I took that as a hint and looked for Miles talking to himself when he sunk his tent together with the scat-cat in the mud, but it is not there!

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Keep digging.

I took that as a hint

No, not a hint.
I meant it to be a prod, a spur, an encouragement, a cheering on, a mild crack of the whip, a gentle nudge on your butt, the promise of discovery, a lure ...
You need not read anything more in it.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

"You're on your own now, boy,"

Who says this to whom in which story/book?

optional bonus question for 1/2 sherlock:
Where exactly is this said?
Added note: I mean the geo- or astrographical location.

Hint #1:
Miles has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
That narrows it down quite a lot, I think, considering that eliminating all chapters/paragraphs about Miles halves your search volume.

[voralfred]

Hint #1:
Miles has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
That narrows it down quite a lot, I think, considering that eliminating all chapters/paragraphs about Miles halves your search volume.

Do you mean, in Vorkosiverse, but without Miles? Or anywhere at all?
I was thinking of Ekaterin talking to the skellytum after planting it in Miles' garden (where the poor boy will really be on its own, considering Miles' anti-green thumb) but we don't actually see her planting it, I was mistaken, she appears just after having done the deed.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

"You're on your own now, boy,"

Who says this to whom in which story/book?

optional bonus question for 1/2 sherlock:
Where exactly is this said?
Added note: I mean the geo- or astrographical location.

Hint #1:
Miles has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
That narrows it down quite a lot, I think, considering that eliminating all chapters/paragraphs about Miles halves your search volume.

Hint #2:
I'll narrow it down to roughly one quarter. The person speaking is male.
This statement does not exclude Betan herms, but it does exclude Cetagandan bas and TSK's mudmen.

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

Do you mean, in Vorkosiverse, but without Miles?

Yes, in the Nexus.
That reduces the number of candidates to roughly one eighth of all of LMB's characters.

P.S.
1. I've always felt a little uncomfortable with the word "Vorkosiverse". There's a syllable missing and it suggests some kind of pulp poetry. I prefer to think of LMB's creation as she named it herself: "The Nexus".

2. Barrayar's settlers must have been from several old-style nationalities and languages.
Vorparadijs and Vorthys are Dutch or South African. Vorgorov and Vorob'yev hint of Russia. Vorlopoulos is distinctly Greek. Could Vordarian and Illyan have had Armenian ancestors?
Though the name "Vorkosigan Surleau" has French roots (Vorkosigan-sur-l'Eau), Kosigan is not familiar French spelling. Could Kosigan stem from Brittany?

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

"You're on your own now, boy,"

Who says this to whom in which story/book?

optional bonus question for 1/2 sherlock:
Where exactly is this said?
Added note: I mean the geo- or astrographical location.

Hint #1:
Miles has nothing whatsoever to do with it.
That narrows it down quite a lot, I think, considering that eliminating all chapters/paragraphs about Miles halves your search volume.

Hint #1A: Actually an answer to Voralfred's question
It was said in the Nexus, which eliminates the Chalion and TSK worlds, and Renaissance Earth. Also not on Kibou-Daini I assume, unless the exact same sentence appears in Cryoburn too.
One quarter the volume.

Hint #2:
I'll narrow it down to roughly one eighth. The person speaking is male.
This statement does not exclude Betan herms, but it does exclude Cetagandan bas and TSK's mudmen and maybe some of Ryoval's creatures.

Hint #3:
It is said downside, not in a space station or a ship or the void.

[voralfred]

I still have no ideas but a few comments on the names:
Vordarian might be of Armenian origin, but not Illyan. I remember reading in some interview by LMB (or maybe a postface on one book) that his name is based on the fictional character Illya Kuryakin "the man from U.N.CL.E.".
As for Kosigan, I had originally assumed it was of Russian origin, but now that you suggest it, it does vaguely sound as coming from Brittany, or from a Celtic part of the British Isles (Wales, Cornwall, Scotland, Ireland?)
Maybe we should ask LMB about that?

A few more comments :
- you are so imprecise: does Ker Dubauer count as the betan herm he poses to be, or is he disqualified as the Ba he really is? Since we never see him downside, I suppose he is not the speaker anyway...
- one cannot speak in the void: even if one has enough air left in one's lungs to utter something the sound won't carry to anyone else; minimally one has to be in a bod-pod which, in some sense, counts a ship, well maybe not a ship but a boat, at least.
- you have the grammar wrong: "Ba" is invariable, it is never spelled "Bas" even where there are several of them. I believe the point is to make the connection with "Haut" just a little bit subtler and certainly subtle enough to baffle the original translator of _Cetaganga_ in French. She entiredly missed the connection, translating "Haut" to "Hoch", with the logic that if it is a french word in English it should be a non-french word in French, so why not a german one; but she kept "ba" as it was! I asked LMB if I should keep "Haut" and "Ba" in french or change it to "High" and "Lo", or maybe "Lau" (but not "Low") in order to reproduce the subtility. She told me she preferred "Haut" and "Ba" also in French and this is how it appears now. I found no nice german word to couple with "Hoch" ("Nider" really did not sound and look OK).

[E Pericoloso Sporgersi]

one cannot speak in the void

I was thinking of an EVA suit with a radio link, but without propulsion.

I found no nice german word to couple with "Hoch" ("Nider" really did not sound and look OK).

We all are eternally grateful that you didn't think of the Dutch words "Hoog" and "Laag".
That would have been droll instead of subtle.

OTOH, if ever you wish to translate a non-English (French) word into a non-French non-English word, let me know. I may be able to suggest a Dutch, German, Spanish or South African word.

P.S. Is translating your second day job?