Sunday 14 February 2021

Van Rijn And Largo

Nicholas van Rijn:

"'I got my boys ready to start a fracas that will make distractions.'"
-Poul Anderson, Satan's World IN Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader (Riverdale, NY, 2010), pp. 329-598 AT VII, p. 393.

Edward Garver, director of the Lunar Federal Centrum of Security and Law Enforcement:

"'I instructed Chief Mendez to send out a riot detachment. He said he was already preoccupied with a riot - a brawl, at least - among men of yours, van Rijn, at a warehouse of yours. Don't tell me that was coincidence!'"
-ibid., VIII, p. 411.

By contrast, Ernst Stavro Blofeld arouses suspicion for the opposite reason.
 
The Commissioner of the Nassau Police:
 
"'...his men have never once given us trouble. Unusual to have not even one case of drunkenness in a ship's crew in nearly six months.'"
-Ian Fleming, Thunderball (London, 1961), 12, p. 98.
 
James Bond:
 
"'Did you notice that Largo didn't smoke and that there was no trace of tobacco smell anywhere in the ship? That's odd. Around forty men and not one of them is a smoker. If one had anything else to go on one would say that wasn't coincidence but discipline.'"
-ibid., 13, p. 109.
 
So the way to avoid suspicion is to avoid extremes.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Yes, but Garver had LONG been hostile to Old Nick and all too willing to stick his nose into even the most innocuous of van Rijn's activities and affairs. Given that, it would not have mattered how badly or well Old Nick and his men behaved, Garver would still be snooping around.

But, I agree, in Blofeld's case, it would have been less suspicious if his men had not been so peculiarly law abiding.

And, even now, there are still lots of smokers! And it would be very odd for all the men in a ship's crew to not be smokers.

Ad astra! Sean