"...dojo..." (p. 12), a Japanese term meaning "place of the way," can refer to a temple adjunct or to a martial arts gathering place and training center.
Malcolm Lockridge is a recognizable Poul Anderson hero:
boyhood of work, forests, hunting and fishing;
enlisted at seventeen;
combat training in the Marines;
karate training in an Okinawa dojo;
read a lot while in the service;
wants to learn after experiencing the world;
studying anthroplogy;
does not romanticize primitive people;
but thinks they have something we have lost.
Storm Darroway reminds him of ancient Cretan images of Our Lady of the Labrys. We will learn that she is the original. He notices a discrepancy: her appearance does not match an Anglo-Saxon name. He sees "...a tiny, transparent button in her left ear." (p. 13) We will learn that this is not a hearing aid but her diaglossa. She lets slip one futuristic word, "'...slogg...'" (ibid.) Something of her philosophy is revealed when she explains that she will spare no expense to help Lockridge beat a murder charge because, "...it is wrong to cage a lion.'" (ibid.)
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