Paris, Stockholm, London And Luna

(Paris, 1915.)

Middle Of The Night Blogging: Other Reading And Its Relevance

See Stocholm, London And Luna.

We have seen Poul Anderson's David Falkayn on Luna, John le Carre's Alec Leamas in London and Stieg Larsson's Mikael Blomkvist in Stockholm all evading any hypothetical clandestine followers. Now they are joined by a historical figure who informs us not only of his own antics but also of those of his followers, this time in Paris:

"...I had spent a great deal of energy trying to dodge the sleuths. I would drive away in a solitary taxi, go into a dark cinema theatre, jump into a metro train at the very last moment, jump out of it just as suddenly, and so on. The detectives were on the alert, too, and kept up the chase in every possible fashion. They would snatch taxis under my nose, keep watch at the entrance of the cinema, and would bolt out like a rocket from a trolley-car or from the metro, to the great indignation of passengers and conductor. Properly speaking, it was on my part a case of art for art's sake. My political activity lay open to the eyes of the police, but the pursuit of the detectives irritated me and roused my sporting instincts."
-Leon Trotsky, My Life (New York, 1970), XXI, p. 266.

Experiences that were irritating or worse can be described with humor. And this brings us full circle because events of such historical importance draw the attention of Poul Anderson's Time Patrol. If a detective is about to arrest Trotsky when he didn't, then the Patrol must ensure that he doesn't whereas, on the several occasions when Trotsky was arrested, Patrollers must, if necessary, ensure that he is. It becomes impossible to read history without asking, "What would the Patrol have done?"