An unrevealed second-auction winner preparing to give Carl its first benefactor box at CrawlCon.
Carl's initial sponsor has already been replaced, but the first bidder in the new auction cannot complete payment. Organizers rerun the bidding and select another winner.
Zev withholds the identity until the autograph session. Her reticent tone worries Carl, and the sponsor's first public act will be awarding a benefactor box at the end of the signing.
The unknown sponsor is the session's looming reveal and a new source of external influence over Carl.