Wow, did that ever bring out my Alpha Geek! This just needs to be recorded as a HOWTO. Too bad my style is so narrative. 
All I wanted was to remotely start an X server that my kids couldn't get to. I'm running Debian unstable, and I routinely use an ssh tunnel to connect to my home computer from anywhere: work, travel, friends' houses... I use x11vnc to export a real X display, providing all the comforts of home.
This time, the kids were already running a desktop of their own. I could've reconfigured gdm to start multiple displays, but when I restarted, I'd probably kill their desktop. I needed a way to start a new X server -- preferably using my standard X session, restoring my accustomed desktop -- on a display other than :0. And hey, while we're at it, let's start it on something the kids can't get to with CTRL+ALT+(<F6> through <F12>) , like :10.
Thus began my descent into the Xwrapper.config, startx, and xauth...
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