So then store the pointer implicitly right-shifted by 1. Means that boxed access is slower, but unboxed access is faster. And, when you get down to the assembl

So then store the pointer implicitly right-shifted by 1. Means that boxed access is slower, but unboxed access is faster. And, when you get down to the assembly level, it doesn't matter - you can treat an unsigned integer as signed for a comparison if it makes things easier.