hey - i think "No older than seventeen" in the online version of "as yet unsent" might be an error. i just checked in my ebook copy, and it says "no older than eighteen" in that version

whoa, that would certainly render my theorizing moot, lol. it would also make a lot more sense. although still a little odd, because Gideon is nineteen, not eighteen, right? either way, good catch!