Aegis is over here, dancing with Alice-of-Aurum for no reason.

"Incoming," says Alice. "Hi, Steel!"

"Hello," says Steel.

"What's up?" asks Aegis.

"I heard you are surprised that my wife has not violently overthrown my mother," says Steel. "Do you care to explain yourself?"

"I didn't put it like that," Aegis says. "I'm badly socialized but I'm not that badly socialized. Violent overthrow is totally in the Bell repertoire, though, and letting other people run things mostly isn't. Sometimes we just pack up and move, Angela's being patient, I think Rose is completely ignoring monarchs-qua-monarchs, but Glass is the only one who lives in a castle and wears a crown and has someone else in the big chair. So either there's something special going on with Glass, or your mom is a really good or at least a really noninterfering sorta queen, or she was being patient and now you're all Downsided you're looking at some personal upheavals."

"I predict," says Sherlock, "that my mother will continue to be queen for a very long time."

"And," says Aegis, "that's weird. I'm not saying it can't happen, it's just weird."

Alice departs this area of party in response to some manner of vision.

Aegis shrugs. She does a casual backflip.

Steel observes Aegis.

"I bet at least half of us were thinking it, I'm just the one who was tactless enough to say anything."

"I am trying to decide whether or not this is a problem."

"That I think it or that I might be right?"

"No."

"What, then?"

"That it is such a prevalent opinion."

Aegis shrugs. "We figure out how Bells are by seeing what Bells do. We imitate each other some 'cause we're all so cool, but not slavishly or anything. If Glass thinks your mom is the best queen and she pulls a Rose instead of a Shell Bell, or works on something like Amariah trying to unite all the kingdoms of the world before she sits on them collectively, or does something totally novel, we'll all go 'huh' and incorporate it and then wonder whether the next Bell is going to do that. Besides, you're her obvious mint-helper. We'll spot her some coins if you can't keep up, but even if you ignore that she must really love you to have married you, she's not likely to do anything you strenuously object to."

"There are plenty of excellent reasons why she should not violently overthrow my mother," Sherlock agrees. "Among them is the fact that it would not work. Nevertheless, I find the attitude disquieting."

"Okay, and?"

"Perhaps it is worth considering some of your underlying assumptions."

"I will when I see what Glass does and I know which assumptions are suspect," says Aegis. "Before today all I knew about your mom's template was that none of your or Iron's alts wanted theirs back from the dead. Maybe yours is special, but I don't know how. Maybe Glass is relevantly unusual, but I don't know how."

Aegis shrugs again. "I'm not personally planning to violently overthrow anyone," she offers. "I live in a democracy and I'm a war hero with another war hero's endorsement. I just have to turn sixteen and hire a campaign manager and I'm a shoo-in for Hegemon. Circumstances matter. Maybe this world - did she name it yet? - maybe where we are turns out particularly non-megalomaniacal Bell results. You've been married to her for years, I found out that there were more than one of me for real and not just in a weird dream Sue had months ago by my time, maybe you know more than me."