- "He turned to find Speaker Karal presenting a woman to him, far from pubescent; she was perhaps fifty, lean and little, work-worn. She was carefully clothed in an aging best-dress, her greying hair combed back and bound at the nape of her neck. She bit at her lips and cheeks in quick tense motions, half-suppressed in her self-consciousness."
- ―Miles meets Ma Csurik[src]
Ma Csurik (SHUH-rihk) was the mother of Lem Csurik, who was accused of killing his infant daughter Raina for mutation. Ma Csurik sought to protect her son from the dangerous Vor lord, Miles Vorkosigan; she told Miles that she did not believe Lem had committed the crime, but she had no clear knowledge that he hadn't done so. She had had eight children in all, five sons and three daughters; the youngest son, Dono, made considerable trouble for Miles by setting fire to his tent. Miles informed Dono that his punishment was to be left to his parents, giving her considerable relief (if none to young Dono).