Annotation - Chapter 11, Page 79
- (79:26) "1st the easy askings then its helping the qwirys"
Torture. In the UK, "helping the police with their inquiries" is the standard euphemism for describing a suspect who has been arrested and is being interrogated, whether or not this help is being given willingly. In Inland, police brutality is taken for granted.
Inquiry, or the search for information, is generally considered bad luck in this book; the sound of the word (if "qwiry" follows the British pronunciation of "inquiry" then it rhymes with "wiry", not "weary") also recalls the theme of what is required.