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Chapter 8: The Bullquote:Banbury Cross is not an antiquity, but was erected in the late 1850s to commemorate the marriage of the Princess Royal to the Crown Prince of Prussia. There was of course a much earlier cross – three to be exact – but the present Victorian Gothic monstrosity was placed where it is today because a local historian believed this to be the site of the ancient High Cross. Three miles to the north of Banbury, nestling by a wooded hill, lies the village of Nun’s Cross, and there is no cross on view there at all.  1859, to be exact. quote:Bond guided the Mulsanne Turbo through the narrow main street of Nun’s Cross, and into the yard of the coaching inn which rejoices in the name of The Bull at the Cross. Taking his overnight case from the boot, he considered the inn was probably the only going concern in the village. A beautiful Georgian building, lovingly kept, and neatly modernised, The Bull even offered ‘gourmet weekends for the discriminating’. At the time Bond visits, Banbury is still a very small town with little to note except for its position in that aforementioned nursery rhyme. In 1990, the M40 would open from London and make it much more accessible, allowing it to expand into a nice little market town for tourists.  The Bull is fictional, but there's an actual hotel from 1677 still in operation in the correct area, the Whately Hotel. Jonathan Swift reportedly wrote Gulliver's Travels while staying there, and King James II stayed in it in 1687. quote:Bond unpacked, changed into grey slacks, an open-necked shirt topped by a navy pullover and his most comfortable moccasins. He was not armed. The ASP 9mm lay comfortably clipped into its hidden compartment in the Bentley. Yet he remained alert as he went down, through the old coach yard and into the village street. His eyes were searching for a dark blue Jaguar XJ6 or a grey Mercedes- Benz saloon. The licence numbers had been committed to memory, for both cars had appeared in his mirror, exchanging places with monotonous regularity ever since he had taken to the road that morning.  The Jaguar XJ is one of the most famous British luxury car series, in continuous production from 1968 until 2019 (when a failed switch to an electric version sank it). "XJ6" indicates that the model is carrying Jaguar's inline 6-cylinder XK engine, which is competitive with but inferior to Bond's Mulsanne Turbo; 0 to 60 in 9.6 seconds in tests, with the gearing limiting it to 116 MPH. This will not be the first time Bond faces off against a Jaguar, though... quote:It was too early for a lunchtime drink. Bond decided to look round this village which, if everything added up, harboured a sophisticated villain who was possibly also a traitor.  Banbury is now a town of over 43,000 people. The business center alone is probably larger than the old village. quote:The third driveway past the church was walled, with heavy, high modern gates set into the original eighteenth-century stone. A small brass plate engraved with the words GUNFIRE SIMULATIONS LTD was sunk into the pillar to the right of the gates. In newer stone, carved and neatly blended with the original, was the one word, ENDOR. A group of giant teddy bears are seen carrying a golden statue in the distance. quote:The drive, which turned abruptly, disappearing behind thick low trees and bushes, seemed to be neatly kept, and a strip of grey slate was only just visible some two hundred yards in the distance. Bond calculated the size of the grounds to be about a square mile. The high wall continued to his left, the boundary being a narrow dirt track neatly signposted THE SHRUBS. Yes, what a shock that this previously mentioned character would coincidentally be in a completely random inn in the middle of nowhere in Oxfordshire! quote:‘The surprise is mutual, Freddie. Drinking?’ Is that your secret? quote:‘Oh no, darling, I wouldn’t say that,’ she murmured. ‘It was frightfully touching, actually. I felt terribly sorry for you, poor lamb.’ Oh, I'm gonna hate this girl, aren't I? quote:‘Or did you come because I asked you?’ I knew it! quote:‘Dinner?’ Bond asked later, as they sat over tea in the residents’ lounge. The hotel had filled up, and three Spanish waiters scurried about with silver teapots, small plates of sandwiches and fancy cakes. Like Brown’s on Sunday afternoon, but without the polish, Bond thought. Oh. That was fast. Not even a line break. quote:‘Oh lord, darling.’ Freddie put on her ‘devastated’ face. ‘I have a dinner date.’ Then she smiled. ‘So have you, if we play our cards right. You see, I’ve got some old friends who live here.’ She suddenly became confidential. ‘Now listen, James, they could be a godsend. You were serious about going into computers? Programming and all that sort of thing? Micros?’ Oh God. quote:M had already briefed him about the other members of Jay Autem Holy’s entourage: the ‘wife’, Dazzle; a young expert called Peter Amadeus (‘Austrian, I think,’ Freddie now added); and the even younger Cambridge graduate, Cindy Chalmer. Oh no quote:No, Bond said, he did not know. But he would like to find out. How did Sinful Cindy get on with Peter Amadeus? So she's going to die, then? quote:Gently he questioned her in an attempt to discover how long ‘Old Jason and Dazzle’ had been such close friends. She hedged a little, but it finally transpired that she had known them for exactly two months. Ma'am, please. quote:Freddie curled up in the large armchair-sized front passenger seat. Bond was careful to ask for directions. Cecil William Mercer was a best-selling author in the interwar period, under the pen name Dornford Yates. He wrote a great many thrillers and comedies, where he often showed a fetish for big gray eyes and small feet in his heroines. Like Fleming, he was a military veteran (in this case a commissioned Second Lieutenant on the Macedonian front of World War I) from a wealthy family, an actor from Oxford with a law degree and chateau in France. Rather than alcoholism, he suffered from muscular rheumatism (what we now call fibromyalgia). After World War II, he and his wife found the new post-war France a bit too egalitarian for their liking and he spent the rest of his life in one place a white man could always be in charge: Rhodesia. quote:Jason St John-Finnes – Bond had to think of him by that name – stood by the open door, light shafting on to the turning circle. He had made no attempt at disguise. The decade in which he had been ‘dead’ appeared to have taken no toll, for he looked exactly like the many photographs in his file at the Regent’s Park Headquarters. Tall and slim, he was obviously in good physical condition, for he moved with grace and purpose – an athlete’s walk. The famous green eyes were just as startling as everyone maintained. By turns warm or cold, they were almost hypnotic, lively and penetrating, as though they could look deeply into a person’s heart. The nose was indeed large and hooked, a great bill, so that the combination of bright searching eyes and the big sharp nose certainly gave the impression of a bird of prey. Bond shuddered inwardly. There was something exceptionally sinister about Dr Jay Autem Holy. Yet this unsettling fact vanished the moment he started to speak. I ship it. quote:For a few seconds his heart raced as he gazed at the tall, slim ash-blonde woman who had come out of the house. Then he realised that it was a trick of the light; but at a distance, especially as now at dusk, Dazzle could easily be taken for Percy Proud: the same hair, figure and bone structure, even the same movements. "Who picked these loving names?" quote:That evening, Bond had to keep a strong hold on himself not to come out into the open. Between them Jason and the vivacious Dazzle proved to be a daunting couple. Within minutes of being in their company you became almost old friends. Jason, the story went, was Canadian by birth, while Dazzle was from New York, though you would have been hard put to it to place her accent, which had more of Knightsbridge than Fifth Avenue in it. Sorry, you have a Filipino houseboy? quote:‘It’s what I adore about life in a village.’ Jason gave a low chuckle. ‘My work doesn’t allow me to be what you might call socially active, but we still get all the gossip – because everybody does.’ Did he just loving clone her without her permission? quote:‘Oh, I get the gossip about us.’ Jason’s voice was deep with humour. ‘Cindy and I are having a passionate love affair, while you’re in bed most of the time with Felix . . .’ Sorry, you can't just reuse that name in this series. quote:‘Much good would it do me!’ Dazzle put a hand over her mouth, mockingly. ‘Where are they, anyway, dear? Peter and Cindy, I mean.’ Oh no, he's a grognard. quote:Bond admitted he worked for nobody at the moment. ‘I had my training in programming when I worked for the Foreign Office.’ He tried to sound diffident. Yes, Bond is completely world-famous at this point....and still trying to work openly as an agent. quote:‘Ah, the amazing Doctor Amadeus.’ Jason rose. Ah, her skin tone is totally acceptable for romance. Carry on. quote:Dressed in a simple grey skirt, and white silk blouse, Cindy had the figure and legs of a dancer, and a face which reminded Bond of a very young Ella Fitzgerald.  Gardner really seems fond of just reusing celebrity appearances for his characters. quote:Peter was around thirty – a few years older than Cindy. Slightly built, immaculately dressed and prematurely balding, he had a precise pedantry and wit that gave a hint of his sexual predilection. Following Cindy’s remark, he helped himself to a drink, saying, ‘You’ve got plenty of chances here, Cindy. There are some great big farm boys in the village I’d fight you for . . .’ Great job, Gardner. You've managed to shove as much outdated representation into one chapter as possible. quote:After the introductions (Bond wondered if he imagined it, but Cindy Chalmer appeared to give him a sharp, almost conspiratorial look when they shook hands), Dazzle suggested they go in to dinner. ‘Tomas will be furious if his cooking is spoiled.’ Tomas was the silent Filipino, who had learned to cook at the feet of Europe’s greatest chefs, by courtesy of Jason St John-Finnes. At least the food isn't weird here! quote:To begin with, the conversation mainly concerned the work Cindy and Peter had just been doing. They're just playing Total War! quote:Freddie and Dazzle were chattering away about clothes, but Jason caught Bond’s interested eye. He turned to Peter and Cindy. That's literally the most generic, obvious answer. quote:Jason nodded. ‘Yes. Increased memory in decreased space. Millions of accessible facts, stored for all time in something no larger than a postage stamp. And, as you say, it’s advancing by the month, even by the day. In a year or so, the little home micro will be able to store almost as much information as the large mainframe computers used by banks and government departments. There is also the breakthrough that marries the laser video disk recording with computer commands – movements, actions, scale, response. At Endor we have a very sophisticated set-up. You may like to look around after dinner.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roCbZXqBDaE Laserdisc-based video games actually were the seeming cutting edge of video games at the time this was written. The above Astron Belt was first previewed at a tradeshow by Sega in 1982, overlaying graphics onto film footage. Everyone probably knows Dragon's Lair from 1983, which used the laserdisc to play a game in the form of a Don Bluth animated film, with the player using a joystick and buttons to perform quick-time events to progress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ocE19YWhs Laserdisc games would continue their popularity into the 90s. American Laser Games released 9 light gun games using laserdisc footage of both professional stuntmen and unprofessional actors flinging themselves around the screen as you shoot at them. While their games would remain popular throughout the decade in American arcades, the expense, clunky setup, and restriction to pre-filmed footage resulted in the demise of laserdisc games at the same time as the format itself. quote:‘Put him on The Revolution and see if a novice player comes up with anything new,’ suggested Cindy. Bond is the world's first gamer spy. quote:‘Freddie and I are going to look at the conservatory,’ Dazzle suddenly interrupted, rather sharply. ‘It’s shop all the time. Very boring. Hope to see you later, James. Lovely meeting you.’ This book is actually contemporary with the release of Axis & Allies! quote:Peter took over. ‘From this we learn the scope of the program task. So, when we’ve played the campaign . . .’ "Make sure to have your pasta points accounted for, Mr. Bond." quote:Behind these seemingly pleasant words there was a hint of obsession that Bond found disturbing. My God. They're nerds. quote:Peter and Cindy began to explain the nature of the game, and how it was used to build up all the details of the simulation before anything was committed to a computer program. The black plastic frame moved both vertically and horizontally across the map. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcD9ADx_Rh4 quote:‘The thing I find interesting is that you can alter history. I am, personally, very attached to the idea of changing history.’ Again, a hint of that obsession, verging on dangerous madness. ‘Perhaps I shall alter history,’ Jason went on in a menacing whisper. ‘A dream? Maybe, but dreams can turn into reality if one man with a brilliant mind is put to proper use. You think my spark of genius is put to proper use? No?’ He expected no answer, and his next words really concerned something far beyond the simulation. ‘Perhaps, James, we could look at this in more detail – even play a few rounds – say, tomorrow?’ Please stop being obviously evil for no reason. quote:Bond said he would like that, sensing more than an ordinary challenge. St John-Finnes continued to talk of revolution, change, and the complexity of war games. Cindy made an excuse to leave, nodding at Bond and remarking that she hoped they would meet again. Wait, he wants to change history but always plays exactly to history and gets mad if his opponent doesn't? quote:Upstairs, Dazzle awaited them, having driven Freddie back to the Bull. ‘She seemed very tired. Said you had dragged her all round the countryside this afternoon, Mr Bond. You really shouldn’t subject her to so much physical exercise. She’s very much a town mouse, you know.’ Bond is so bad at this. quote:‘No.’ Bond was firm. ‘No, you’re not right, I’ve taken the standard courses they give people like me. I reckon that I’m adequate. Not in your class, maybe, but who is?’ I'm going to guess he's referring to Steve Jobs, who really was 28 when this book was written. He was worth $250 million by the age of 25, one of the youngest people to get on Forbes' list of the wealthiest Americans and one of the only ones to not have inherited wealth to do it. quote:‘Right. Twenty-eight years old, and some of the really advanced programmers are younger. I know it all, but it’s up to people like Cindy or Peter, to translate my ideas into reality. Brilliance, genius, requires nurturing. Programmers like my two may not really understand that they feed my great conceptions. As for you, a man with minimal training – you cannot be of real use to me. You don’t stand a chance in this field.’ But not dedicated enough to playing God to actually play strategy games creatively? quote:When he got back to the hotel, Bond retrieved his key from a dozing night porter and went up to his room. But, on putting the key in the lock, he found the door already open. Freddie, he thought, with some irritation, for he wanted very be alone, to have time to think.
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Apr 16, 2021 20:15
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quote:Dazzle St John-Finnes For the benefit of anyone who doesn't speak Upper-Class Twit, "St John" is properly pronounced "Sin-gin". Her father uses her as a wastepaper basket and in her spare time she's a character in knockoff spy novels! quote:Cambrai, which is very good, because the outcome could have been very different 1917's Battle of Cambrai is usually remembered as the first truly successful use of massed tanks, and a key phase in the development of what the British Army called All Arms Battle and we now know as combined arms theory, with the Royal Flying Corps used heavily before and during the battle to attack the German gun lines and supply areas. When the Germans counter-attacked, they in turn learned valuable lessons which later contributed to the success of the Spring Offensive the next year. Like most other battles, it came to an indecisive end, with heavy casualties on both sides and strategically insignificant gains in territory. Quite what "very different" outcome Gardner imagines is, I have no idea. A full British breakthrough was very unlikely due to bad weather, unreliability of the Mark IV tank, the usual difficulties in communication and supply after a successful advance, German preparedness, and a lack of resources to press any breakthrough after the recent Third Battle of Ypres. A significant reverse in favour of the Germans was equally unlikely due to unpreparedness for a full counter-attack, inexperience in attacking on the Western Front, and the usual difficulties. Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Apr 17, 2021 |
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Apr 17, 2021 18:53
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quote:Oh no, he's a grognard. New No Time To Die leak: Bond will infiltrate the sinister business empire of eccentric millionaire Chris Roberts
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Apr 17, 2021 20:48
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Chapter 9: Inside Endor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dDBvOtRaSo quote:‘Come on, Mr Bond. Percy Proud. Persephone. We’re in cahoots.’ This is the closest Bond has ever come to actually being sort of cautious with his job. quote:‘Tell me more.’ A reminder that this is still ostensibly Fleming's Bond, so he's been world famous for years before Gardner's books thanks to his escapades like the Goldfinger incident. And is still operating openly. quote:Bond asked if she did this often. This girl's best idea for a cover was loving every man in the village. quote:‘How unconventional are they?’ He reached out to take the disks, feeling as though something irrevocable would happen once he laid hands on them. Even to handle the things implied that he could do as Cindy asked. If this was an attempt to put him in the frame, there could be no going back. Reminder that Bond was specifically told by Percy that Holy's code includes DRM that prevents you from just copying his stuff. quote:She made an irritated, spluttering noise which reminded him of M when the Head of Service became annoyed. ‘Technically, of course I can copy. But it would be far too dangerous to try it in the house. I’m never left alone long enough with the hardware. Either the great man’s around, or the Queen of the Night is fussing about . . .’ The gay man is the Queen of the Night. Fantastic. quote:Bond smiled inwardly. ‘Cindy?’ No you're not! quote:‘I know her quite well. Have done for the past . . . what? Eight years?’ And where! quote:‘All of it? Okay. I spent eight months in a hospital for infectious diseases after I left high school. There are medical records, doctors and nurses who remember me. I know because Old Bald Eagle’s ferrets checked them out. Only I wasn’t there. I was at the Farm, being trained. Then, surprise, I won a scholarship to Cambridge, here in England. From then on, as pure as the driven. A good, hardworking girl. I’m untouchable, fully sanitised, as we say. The Company kept me on ice. I worked for IBM, and then with Apple, before I applied for the job with Jay Autem Holy. His boys checked, double-checked and even then didn’t trust me for eighteen months.’  "The Farm" is Camp Peary, the CIA's clandestine training facility near Williamsburg, VA. Like many similar facilities, its existence is public knowledge but the US government insists on not formally acknowledging it. It's also home to an airstrip for CIA extraordinary rendition aircraft (officially owned by front companies) to base. quote:Bond gave a brisk nod. There were no real options left. Trust between him and the girl had to be entered into quickly, though not lightly. ‘Okay, just tell me about these two programs.’ Stranger than dedicated wargames freaks? quote:‘There are two particular characters – Balmer and Hopcraft,’ Cindy went on after pausing to gaze intently into Bond’s eyes, ‘known to my crowd as Tigerbalm and Happy. Tigerbalm’s about as balmy as a force ten blizzard. Kill you quick as look at you; and Happy’s probably only that way when he’s raping or pillaging. Happy would have made a good Viking raider.’ Was Gardner doing the Stephen King diet when he wrote this? quote:Cindy explained that Gunfire Weekends, as they were called in the computer magazines, all appeared to be run with a military flavour. ‘Strict discipline. Order Groups at 09.00 hours, Lights Out at 22.30, and all that. It was what happened after Lights Out that became interesting. I like how this is supposed to be suspicious when it's just what crazy wargames guys do. quote:Bond told her to wait in his room while he went quietly down to the car, selected the equipment he needed and brought it back to the room. It took time, but the extra minutes spent reconnoitring the car park seemed well spent. Oh, he just had the important files lying around! quote:He accessed the First girl driver and the screen showed him to be in heavy traffic, leaving Heathrow Airport and heading in to London. Ahead lay the small convoy of police and security vans. The program was obvious, and Bond flipped through the phases – Turn Off; Kensington High Street: Phase One; Kensington High Street: Phase Two; Abort; Kensington High Street: Phase Violet Smoke, and on to the getaway, passing options such as Security Teams (Electrics) and Security Teams (Way Out). He did not need to run the whole simulation to know that the disk, currently resting in his top drive, was a training program for the Kruxator robbery. Not even halfway through and Bond has already been handed incriminating evidence that Holy is involved in this crime. I'm sure he'll report it properly. quote:Taking a virgin disk, Bond began to go through the careful procedure of breaking down Jay Autem Holy’s protection program in order to make a clean second copy of the original. Gardner, at least, knows when to abstract. quote:The second of Cindy’s disks was a similar training program, this time, they presumed, for the hijacking of an aircraft. As in fact there had been a monumental hijack of a specially chartered freight plane carrying newly printed money from the Royal Mint printers to several countries, the chances were that this was the blueprint for it. "Clowns..." quote:Bond was concentrating, writing back the protect program on to the hijack simulation original. ‘They’re all specialists, Cindy.’ Oh, he's actually doing what he needs to do! He's not just sitting on it and trying to do everything himself for no reason! quote:‘You think they’re using it now? Training on it?’ Just say dialogue quote:Bond completed his tasks and returned the original disks to Cindy and asked about the routine at the house. Did Jason and Dazzle ever go out? Or away? How many security people did they have around? The voiceprint is actually the only fully secure part of this system. As was discovered with systems like the German Enigma of World War II, constantly changing codes are only as secure as the codebook. While this is no longer the 1940s, it would be very hard for the guards to ever keep tracking of codes that change every 6 hours without having them written down somewhere. quote:‘Visual?’ Bond asked. One might call it.....a role of honour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh_6AL2Uv7I quote:It was past three-thirty in the morning. Bond packed up the equipment and took it down to the car, locking it away in the boot. Back in his room, he put the cloned programs in a FloppiPak disk mailer, smiling wryly at the frightful nomenclature of the trade. He addressed the label to himself at a Post Office box number, then weighed the small, flat package in his hand, making an intelligent guess as to weight. He stuck on what he estimated to be sufficient postage from a folder of stamps in his briefcase. He would have liked to deliver the package in person, but he was not going to leave anything to chance. The Speedlopes FloppiPak is a now-defunct trademark for paper and cardboard-based packaging specifically for floppy disks in Britain. It was registered in 1981, right as Gardner got his start as the new Bond author, reflecting how much the microcomputer craze had spread. quote:Sitting at the small dressing table, Bond next wrote a short note to Freddie on hotel paper. Okay Gardner, we don't need clothing detail to the point where you're reminding us that Bond wears underwear.    Gardner does seem to be quite willing to continue Fleming's influence in one way: personal. Bond has noticeably abandoned suits except when completely necessary in Gardner's run, instead going through a regime of casual clothing that may or may not work today. And they somehow keep lining up with photos of Gardner. quote:It was just getting light, the dark sky changing to grey and then that cold-washed pearl which heralds unsettled weather. With the detested FloppiPak in his briefcase, Bond went downstairs, left his key and the note for Freddie at the deserted reception and went out to the car. I guess Gardner wasn't a fan of their packing methods. quote:The Bentley’s engine growled into life at the first turn of the key, and he allowed it to settle to its normal, gentle purr, fastening the seatbelt and watching the red warning lights flick off one by one. I feel like if Bond just drove normally and stayed around other vehicles, he'd avoid any trouble and be able to lose this car much easier in London. But hey, what do I know? Maybe the best way to respond to a tail is to drive at 120 MPH in the rain and swerve like a madman through traffic. quote:The white Mercedes held back, but even at speed, Bond could not throw it off altogether. Ahead the signs came up for an exit. Flicking the indicator at the last moment, he left the dual carriageway still well in excess of the 100 miles per hour mark, the Bentley responding to his light control, holding the road during the turn. The Mercedes seemed to have disappeared. He hoped that the driver had not been able to reduce speed in time to get off the main highway. This is the smartest Bond has ever been with his job, but the use of tabletop RPG lingo in the early 80s just makes it hilarious. quote:As he took the next bend, Bond saw a village coming up and realised he had outdistanced the Mercedes. He pumped the footbrake, slowing the Bentley dramatically, looking ahead and to the left. The car was almost out of the village before he spotted the welcome brilliant red of a post box. The Bentley slid to a halt beside it, and Bond had his seatbelt off before the car had stopped rolling. I see Bond is inspired by another 1984 product. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy8lN7L8OHo quote:It took less than twenty seconds to slip the package into the box and return to the driving seat. He did not rebuckle the belt until the Bentley was already gathering speed and the Mercedes had appeared again in his driving mirror. He passed an electric milk float doing the early rounds, then he was once more in open country. As he reached a wooded stretch, Bond caught a glimpse of a picnic area sign, then saw two other cars emerge from the trees, their bonnets coming together to form a V, blocking his path.  The milk float is a distinctly European phenomenon, especially in Britain, that is now considered quaint and outdated. Everyone knows about milkmen, but the UK pioneered battery-powered electric vehicles over the first half of the 20th century for low-speed utility purposes. They were extremely handy for replacing horse-drawn carriages or motor cars in jobs like home milk delivery, so they exploded in popularity. By 1967, the UK had more battery-powered electric vehicles than the rest of the world combined....purely on milk floats. The milk floats had many advantages. They don't have to pay road taxes or central London congestion charges, they're free from pollution and noise, and they're extremely cheap to run. However, the expansion of refrigerated dairy storage into markets in the last few decades has led to the general demise of the milkman, and many dairies began switching to gas and diesel vans for general delivery purposes. A quaint handful are still used for milk delivery, and others have been repurposed for entertainment and tourism purposes. quote:‘They’re playing for keeps,’ he muttered, ramming the foot-brake, and hauling on the wheel with his left arm.
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Apr 22, 2021 19:02
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chitoryu12 posted:Chapter 9: Inside Endor Ballmer, you say? https://youtu.be/I14b-C67EXY
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Apr 23, 2021 01:52
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Chapter 10: Erewhonquote:The ASP 9mm is a small, very lethal weapon. Essentially a scaled-down version of the Smith & Wesson Model 39, it has been in use with United States Intelligence Agencies for over a decade. With a recoil no greater than a Walther .22, it has the look of a target automatic rather than the deadly customised hand gun it really is. Armaments Systems and Procedures, the organisation which carried out the conversion, produced the weapon to exacting specifications: ease of concealment, a minimum eight-round capacity; reliability; an ammunition indicator using Lexon see-through butt grips, and an acceptance of all known 9mm ammunition. Just imagine a long, deep sigh here. 1. Nobody has actually been able to verify how much US intelligence usage it had. It's known that Paris Theodore had conceived of the idea for the PPK and the Browning Hi-Power beforehand, so it's unlikely that it was commissioned for anyone like the CIA. 2. The recoil is not only not equivalent to a Walther .22, I've fired a subcompact 9mm about this size. It's godawful and the concussion of a 9x19mm round coming out of such a short barrel punches you in the face. My personal carry gun is a .380 even smaller than the ASP because it's far easier to shoot (if not easy) and modern ammunition has made .380 ACP on par with 1950s 9x19mm in penetration. 3. Glaser Safety Slugs are terrible. Despite all of their marketing, ballistic gel testing indicates that the bullet essentially shatters instantly on impact. While this is good if you're making a square hit on an unarmored target directly in the center of the torso or head, even just hitting the target's arm in front of their body (a likely possibility in a gunfight) or thick winter clothes is enough to reduce its penetration, with the resulting damage being about as good as birdshot. Against armor, frangible ammo is the worst possible option. Where this most likely comes from is the infamous Teflon bullet scandal. In 1982, NBC ran a special report claiming that Teflon-coated bullets would have the ability to penetrate Kevlar vests, resulting in the label "cop killer bullets." These came from KTW ammunition, which used a Teflon coating early on to reduce deflection when firing through windshields, vehicle doors, and other light cover. This created a massive scare leading to many states passing laws banning them, despite the Teflon coating doing nothing at all to affect penetration through soft armor, and many films and video games mindlessly repeating the myth. Gardner seems to have fallen for it as well, believing that liquid Teflon is all it takes to get a bullet through Kevlar even if it's designed specifically to fragment on impact with anything. quote:Bond fired two rounds from the lowered window almost before the car had come to a halt. He kept both eyes open, looking down the revolutionary back-mounted Guttersnipe sight, its triangular yellow walls giving instant target recognition.  The guttersnipe is not so revolutionary as to be used on really any other gun, for good reason. It's incapable of precise aiming past about 10 feet, as it was designed exclusively for extremely close range use. At 10 yards, you'd be lucky to reliably hit the torso. Shooting instinctively off the front sight is sufficient for every other handgun. quote:Through the trees and bracken he could see several men leaving the cars. Others were trying to get the vehicles off the road. Bond’s rapid shots were aimed at the clear outline of a tall man in a dirty-white raincoat who was making for the Bentley. He did not stop to find out what happened to the target, but opened the door and rolled into the undergrowth. Bond spends another 15 minutes lying in the damp forest, before he notices a man crouched by a tree near him. quote:The searcher wore olive green denim trousers and shirt, and a military-style jacket. Moving each limb about half an inch at a time, Bond began to turn. He wanted to get at least one shot in before anyone closed on him. There was another movement, this time to the right. Bond’s reflexes and intuition warned of danger, and he brought the ASP up in the direction of this new threat. Constantly running around Bond in a desperate attempt to get him to notice you. quote:‘Who teaches?’ Bond demanded as he turned and faced a tall, well-built man in his mid-thirties with tight, curly hair, dark above matching jet eyes, a square face, a large nose and full lips. Women would find him attractive, Bond thought. The dark complexion was overlaid with a hard, sunbaked tan. It was the eyes that really gave him away. They had that particular look, as if, for years, they had searched horizons for the telltale sign of dust, or the sky for a speck, or an outcrop of rock for movement, or doorways and windows for muzzle flashes. Those eyes had probably been doing that kind of thing since childhood. Nationality? Who could tell? One of the Middle Eastern countries, but whether he came from Jerusalem, Beirut or Cairo was impossible to tell. Possibly a hybrid, Bond thought. Someone get Kingsley Amis on the case! quote:‘Who teaches?’ he asked again. This is just how Britain deals with anti-vaxxers in 2021. quote:At first he thought he was in a helicopter, lying flat on his back with the machine bucking under him. He could hear the chug of the engine turning the rotor blades. Then, far away, came the rip of automatic firing. For a time, Bond drifted away again, then the helicopter sensation returned, accompanied by a series of loud explosions near at hand. Oh no, he's back in Vietnam! quote:Opening his eyes, he saw an electric fan turning slowly above his head, and became aware of white walls and the simple metal bedframe on which he lay, fully dressed. Bond has never followed this advice. quote:He went back to the bed and stretched out, going over the events still fresh in his mind. The attempt to get away with the computer programs. Posting them. The trailing cars. The wood and his capture. The needle. He was the only one to have fired a shot. Almost certainly he had hit – probably killed – one of them. Yet, apart from their natural caution, they had been careful to make sure that he was unharmed. A connection between his visit to Jay Autem Holy and the current situation was probable, though not certain. Take nothing for granted. Wait for revelations. Expect the worst. What? They fired two bullets at you! They shot your tire out! quote:Bond lay there, mentally prepared, for the best part of twenty minutes. At last there came footsteps – muffled, as though boots crunched over earth, but the tread had a decidedly military sound. Bolts were drawn back and the door to Bond’s room was unlocked and opened. Oh, I'm sure this is going to be good. quote:‘Had a good sleep, Mr Bond?’ The man’s smile was almost infectious. As he looked up, Bond remembered his feelings about the eyes. Expensive. quote:‘My name is James Bond, formerly Commander, Royal Navy. Formerly Foreign Service. Now retired.’ Erewhon: or, Over the Range was a novel by Samuel Butler published in 1872 as a satire on Victorian society. The protagonist discovers a new land, Erewhon, where machines were banned and distrusted due to a fear that they could develop a consciousness. Butler was a devout follower of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and proposed that, if humanity could develop from more primitive primates to the level we're at now simply through natural selection, there's no reason that machines couldn't do the same. While the book was mainly intended to mock Victorian English culture (such as viewing the commission of crimes as an illness, while criminalizing ugliness and illness as a violation of your duties as law-abiding healthy citizens), it's regarded as the first work to seriously approach the concept of artificial intelligence and one of the first dystopian fiction novels. The well-educated Gardner would have undoubtedly known this when he chose the name. quote:Bond slowly got off the bed, reached out and grasped Simon’s left wrist, aware of the man’s other hand moving swiftly to the revolver butt. How did he not get shot right there? quote:‘Oh, really? No, I suppose you haven’t.’ There was mocking ingenuousness in Simon’s voice. ‘But you’re out of work, Commander Bond. That’s true, surely?’ Of course he would look at the hills at his place of capture and go "Heh, boobs." quote:Smoke drifted up from some of the smaller buildings. To Bond’s left there was a firing range, with a group in uniform preparing to use it. Towards the round-topped hills, the sound of heavy explosions and small arms fire suddenly erupted from a clutter of gutted brick houses, which looked almost European. Figures dashed between these houses as though fighting a street battle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVowL8yrZVM This is like a higher budget version of the early SPECTRE training camp scene in From Russia With Love. This depicted the least OSHA-compliant training environment in the world, with live targets leaping through flamethrowers and gunmen practicing their ridiculous 1960s quick-draw right next to people learning how to use crossbows or karate chopping blocks. quote:‘You like our Erewhon?’ Simon asked cheerfully.
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Apr 24, 2021 22:51
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chitoryu12 posted:Tamil Rahani Sorry, who is this?
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Apr 24, 2021 23:32
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Is this the beginning of the Butlerian Jihad?
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Apr 25, 2021 00:25
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poisonpill posted:Sorry, who is this? He was briefly mentioned several chapters ago as possibly involved with Holy.
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Apr 25, 2021 22:06
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Chapter 11: Terror for Hirequote:The room was functionally furnished: the folding table, four chairs and filing cabinet could have been found in the quartermaster’s stores of any army in the world. Furniture-shaped furniture? quote:The furnishings also appeared to reflect the character of Tamil Rahani. From a distance, when Bond had seen him briefly in Monte Carlo, Rahani had looked like any other successful businessman – sleek, well-dressed, needle-sharp and confident. At close quarters, the confidence was certainly there, but that sleekness was clearly superficial. What stood out was a kind of dynamism – harnessed, and controlled. It was the air of self-discipline found in most good military leaders, a kind of quiet calm, and behind it an immense, unflinching resolve. Rahani certainly exhibited authority and a firm belief in his own ability. Man, this villain isn't even a man of wealth and taste! quote:‘Don’t I know you, sir?’ Bond was careful to observe military courtesy. An aura of power and danger enveloped Rahani. There is literally no way Bond could fool these people. quote:‘Well,’ Rahani continued, ‘quite a few people wanted to find out the truth. A number of agencies would have liked to approach you. One very nearly did. But they got cold feet. They decided that you would probably rediscover your loyalty once put to the test, no matter how disaffected you felt.’ It's also the business of all the papers, because you're loving James Bond. You got a goddamn obituary in the national papers! quote:‘Not even as an adviser? Not even with a very high salary? With little to do, and less danger in doing it?’ Okay that's actually a really good offer. quote:‘Where’s here?’ Ah, alt-right. quote:Bond waited, as though not yet prepared to commit himself. "So many fuckups that I just barely made it out of through dumb luck." quote:‘Don’t you ever feel that revenge could be sweet?’ Of course, after such an epic betrayal of the terrorists, Bond could never operate so openly again for a decade under the same author.....right? quote:‘Good. Tell us then, Commander Bond.’ Rahani’s voice and manner were equally bland. Gardner really just learned about computers right before writing this, huh? quote:‘You were actually accused?’ It was Simon who asked. So their cover story is that Bond threw a tantrum and quit? quote:‘It’s a very good story.’ Tamil Rahani looked pleased. ‘But it will be difficult to prove, if I know anything about government departments.’ Of course. quote:As they reached the door, Bond turned back. ‘May I ask you a question, sir?’ I'm surprised Bond didn't start yelling the word "specter" at him just now. quote:Bond followed Simon out into the sunshine. They went first to a mess hall where about eighty people were enjoying a lunch of chicken cooked with peppers, onions, almonds and garlic. Everyone wore the same olive uniform. Some carried side arms. There were men and women, mainly young, and from many different countries. They sat in pairs or teams of four. That was how the training went, Simon explained. They worked with a partner or in teams. Sometimes two teams would be put together, if the work demanded it. Some of the pairs were training to be loners. "Even" English? You'd want a single unified language if you've got so many people from different nationalities in one organization, and English is the most universal at this time! quote:‘If you want anonymity, I shouldn’t use those two in Europe,’ he told Simon quietly. ‘They’ve both got star billing with our people.’ Imagine at the end of the book that it gets revealed Bond prevented these guys from being captured and they were assigned to a successful terrorist bombing elsewhere. quote:‘That’s good. Thank you. We prefer unknowns, and I had a feeling about that couple. Everyone has had some field work behind them when they come here, but we don’t like faces.’ Simon gave a knowing grin. ‘We do need them though. Some have to be lost, you know. It comes in handy during training.’ Counter-counter-terrorists win. quote:Apart from classes in weaponry of all kinds, special attention was paid to hijacking and takeover. They even had two flight simulators in the compound. One building was devoted solely to the techniques of bargaining with authorities while holding either hostages or kidnap victims. The skills were being taught extremely thoroughly. "This man is far too stupid to be of use to us." quote:On the sixth day Rahani was still hammering away at the same questions concerning details of protection for heads of state, the Prime Minister, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family. This was not part of Bond’s own work, or the work of his Service, but Rahani quite rightly assumed that Bond would know a great deal about it. He even wanted names, possible weaknesses in those assigned to such duties, and the kind of schedules they worked. At about five o’clock in the afternoon, a message was brought in. Rahani read it, then slowly folded the paper and looked at Bond. Nobody. quote:‘You’ve been playing with my toys.’
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Apr 30, 2021 04:25
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Chapter 12: Return to Senderquote:Two more explosions came from below, followed by another heavy burst of fire. The second team of two men was clearing the ground floor. Bond could hear the feet of the first team on the stairs. In a few seconds there would be the dance of death on the landing – a couple of stun grenades or smoke canisters would be thrown through the door to his right, then lead would hose down the passage, taking him on that short trip into eternity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWPoWs6e7_g quote:Simon’s voice kept running in his head like a looped tape: ‘Use your initiative . . . Use your initiative . . .’ Was that a hint? A clue? There was certainly something of a nudge in the tone he had adopted. The funniest part of this is that five seconds is extremely slow when you have the replacement magazine already in your hand. Someone of Bond's capabilities should easily be performing that in 2 seconds or less. Not that it matters much, seeing as Gardner is determined to make this as free of tension as possible by allowing Bond to just immediately reload with live ammo on the first page. quote:He performed the reloading on the move, finally positioning himself hard against the wall to the left of the door. The team would leap in after the grenades had accomplished their disorientating effect, one to the left and one right. They would be firing as they came, but Bond gambled on their first bursts going wide across the room. While this may seem ridiculous to a modern viewer with knowledge of slicing the pie, my reading of what few 1980s tactical manuals on urban warfare are out there (such as FM 21-75 and FM 90-10) actually lack the precise room clearing techniques trained to modern SWAT and special forces. FM 90-10 even recommends that room clearing involve the first man simply spraying automatic fire across the entire room after throwing in a grenade, with subsequent rooms involving varying tactics to confuse anyone inside (such as blowing a hole in the wall to throw a grenade in). quote:Flattening himself against the wall, he held the powerful little weapon at arm’s length in the two-handed grip, at the same time clutching the spare magazine almost as an extension to the butt. Fortunately for Bond, modern stun grenades like the M84 are still a decade away. Those grenades generate a noise around 180 decibels (louder than a shotgun blast) and a flash of 6-8 million candela in a 5-foot radius. Failing to cover your ears against one of those will not just deafen you, but can cause inner ear problems that throw off your balance. quote:Bond acted purely by intuition. At the first movement through the door he sighted the three little yellow triangles on the dark moving shape. He squeezed the trigger twice, resighted and squeezed again. In all the four bullets were off in less than three seconds – though the whole business appeared to be frozen in time, slowed down like a cinematic trick so that everything happened with a ponderous, even clumsy, brutality. How does Gardner keep getting more gruesome?! Now the Glaser birdshot bullets are physically throwing people in the air as their heads explode! quote:Because of his temporary deafness, Bond felt as though he stood outside the action, as if watching a silent film. But his experience pushed him on: two down, he thought, two to go. The second team almost certainly would be covering the entrance hall, and may even be coming to the assistance of their comrades at this moment. Fleming was at least subtle. quote:In the doorway, he paused for a second, ears straining to no effect, for his head still buzzed as though a hundred electric doorbells were ringing inside his skull. I think it would have been prudent to take the dead men's' guns and ammo too, but what do I know? quote:The last man was struggling at the bottom of the stairs, for the grenade had caught him napping. From the scorch marks and his agonised beating at the smouldering cloth around his loins, it was obvious that the grenade had hit him in the groin while he was on the stairs. I think Gardner is just enjoying this now. quote:Still deafened, Bond saw the man’s mouth opening and closing, his face distorted. From the top of the stairs Bond shot him once, neatly blowing off the top of his head so that he fell on to his back, moving a foot or so on impact, with his brains spilling out over the dirty entrance hall floor. Wow, I had no idea The Hunger Games ripped of Gardner's Bond books! quote:‘Right, Bond.’ It was Tamil Rahani calling. ‘Nobody wanted to do you any harm. It was a test, that’s all. A test of your efficiency. Just come out now. The test is over.’ I see Gardner likewise realized how much Bond hosed up. quote:‘Standard? Telling the victim only blank ammunition is being used?’ ‘Well, you soon discovered you had live rounds, like the others. They also thought they had blanks.’  The Heckler & Koch MP5 is probably the greatest submachine gun of all time, and the MP5K was an attempt at creating the smallest possible form for bodyguards, intelligence agencies, and special forces. Introduced in 1976, it has a 4.5-inch barrel (the same length as many handguns) and no stock; you can tension it on a sling by thrusting it out from your body to reduce recoil, but it's still only useful at very close range. By 1991 the MP5K PDW would be released, which has a folding stock and slightly extended barrel with HK's suppressor lugs for a much more practical weapon. The MP5K PDW (specifically a conversion kit from a semi-auto weapon, as indicated by the lack of the paddle magazine release due to how MP5 receivers are constructed for civilian and military customers in a very long story) holds the distinction of being the second firearm I ever shot and the first in full auto, because I jump into things headfirst. I'm personally not fond of them, as the extremely short barrel means that the significant muzzle blast singes your knuckles. quote:‘I could have been wiped out within seconds.’ Probably! quote:‘And if I had died in there?’ Oh my God, he's a subcontractor. quote:‘And in this case your orders were?’ I'm glad to see that they thoroughly checked through the means of "Seeing if he'd kill terrorists set on him." quote:‘So, what’s this job you have for me?’  quote:‘So?’ chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 23:25 on May 2, 2021 |
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May 2, 2021 23:19
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chitoryu12 posted:We’re not talking about stories dreamed up by pulp novelists. No blackmail through concealed nuclear devices hidden in the heart of great Western cities; no plots to kidnap the President, or hold the world to ransom by setting all the major currencies at naught. Yeah none of that cheesy poo poo for James Bond! Coming right after the gruesome firefight description this feels like Gardner was trying to make 007 books "grim and gritty" but it just comes off as hilariously out of place.
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May 2, 2021 23:55
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Nothing ridiculous! No mind control ice cream! No mansions with Gyrojets and paperwork proving that a woman unironically named Lavender Peacock is a secret Scottish heir! No Nazis in secret ice bases!
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May 3, 2021 05:58
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Chapter 13: The Numbers Racketquote:The sky was grey, almost leaden. He could see it through the window – the sky and part of an old apple tree. That was all.  Laura Ashley was a textile design company formed in 1954 that lasted all the way until 2020 before going bankrupt. The wallpaper here is likely something very traditional as seen above. quote:There was a depressing sense of déjà vu. He had been along this road before, only last time it was Erewhon. Rahani had said they had accepted him, but he wondered how and why. Certainly the long interrogation sessions had been searching – M had instructed him to give away anything they could check on, even if it was highly sensitive. Fences, his Chief maintained, could be mended later. But what would be the state of play by the time they came to mend fences? At Erewhon preparations were going forward for something earth-shattering. What was it that Rahani had said – ‘A unique and complete change in the course of world events’? The dream of revolutionaries: to change history, to crush the status quo, to alter it in order to build a new society. Well, Bond thought, it had been done before, but only within countries: Russia was the prime example, though Hitler’s rise in Germany had been a revolution as well. The problem with revolutions was that the ideal usually fell short because of human frailty. M often expounded such theories. Wow, I had no idea that James Bond was a succlib who needs to be guillotined by the accelerationist proletariat! quote:Rahani had told him that he, Bond, or somebody like him, would be essential to whatever was about to take place. They needed someone with the skills, the contacts and the knowledge of an experienced Secret Intelligence field officer. What part of those skills, or what special knowledge was required? These characters are so uninteresting that I legitimately forgot which girl Cindy was and had to check the names again. quote:‘Breakfast, Mr Bond,’ she said, beaming at him. Which immediately fell off from the massive amount of steam soaking into it? quote:‘That’ll do fine.’ He gave her a nod. ‘Do I call room service when I’ve finished?’ As usual, he will assume no cameras or other surveillance is present. quote:The paper came away easily from the inside of the lid. Cindy had filled it with small, neat writing and, in spite of the steam, the ink had not run. The note started abruptly, without any salutation. Seasoning! quote:There was a small bathroom attached to his bedroom. Set neatly on the glass shelf above the hand-basin were his razor and his favourite cologne. Already he had seen his weekend case beside the small wardrobe. On examination he discovered his clothes had all been washed and neatly pressed. Still can't get over that. quote:‘Mornin’, Mr Bond.’ Tigerbalm greeted him with a smile, his eyes not meeting Bond’s but sliding around the room, as though measuring it up for a I eagerly look forward to them both being creatively killed in machinery. quote:They did not exactly crowd him as they went downstairs to the working area. There was no pushing or frogmarching, but their presence had a certain intimidating effect. Bond felt that one false move – any inclination to go in another direction – would bring about a fast, restraining action. There was no sign of Cindy or Peter. But St John-Finnes sat at his desk, the large computer keyboard in front of him and the VDU giving out a glow of colour. The dude almost shot Rahani! It was just luck that he missed! quote:Bond said nothing. "Curiously oriental"? Come on. quote:‘. . . especially careful concerning you, I fear,’ St John-Finnes was saying. ‘Our principals were very much against giving you a situation of trust, but – since Erewhon – we have made them think twice.’ Once again, Bond comes within inches of straight up screaming that he's a spy to the villain. quote:Holy made a noncommittal grunt. ‘I’ll accept that you’re clean, Bond. But still my orders are to segregate you. You possess knowledge and skill which we require you to use now.’ Rarely used because it's a fictional creation for the book. quote:‘Quite.’ Holy gave what could only be described as a knowing smile. ‘Rarely used, and very limited – but with the most far-reaching consequences?’ Did M's plan account for Bond spilling all of this detail to the villain on purpose? quote:‘In those circumstances the instructions would go to all local commanders automatically. They would be fed into the mainframe computers, the program would begin to run, globally, straight away. No question.’ This was something more devious, more ingenious than some harebrained revolutionary plan to override the system and transmit presidential orders to raise the level of tension between the superpowers. ‘But surely you know all of this.’ Nothing suspicious about requesting that at all. quote:‘There are only eleven ciphers that are capable of being sent via EPOC. These are seldom altered, for, as you say, they are programs, designed to be automatically set in motion while the President is out of the country. The eleventh is, incidentally, a countermand program to stop an order, returning things to the status quo. But that can be used only on a limited time scale. The frequency itself is altered at midnight every two days. Right?’  In the real world, the equivalent for this is the Presidential Emergency Satchel, or "nuclear football." This heavy briefcase serves as a mobile hub for the strategic defense system of the United States. In other words, it contains everything that the president needs to issue a nuclear strike anywhere at any time. The contents of the football, obviously, are top secret. Warren "Bill" Gulley, the first civilian chief of the White House Military office, made a claim in his 1980 book Breaking Cover of the contents of the football that may or may not be true. There are four things in the Football. The Black Book containing the retaliatory options, a book listing classified site locations, a manila folder with eight or ten pages stapled together giving a description of procedures for the Emergency Broadcast System, and a three-by-five-inch [7.5 × 13 cm] card with authentication codes. The Black Book was about 9 by 12 inches [23 × 30 cm] and had 75 loose-leaf pages printed in black and red. The book with classified site locations was about the same size as the Black Book, and was black. It contained information on sites around the country where the president could be taken in an emergency. Obviously, as a paragraph in a mass market tell-all, this could be fake information to throw off espionage just as well. The official information is that the various authentication codes must be checked and re-checked through a strict chain of command to verify that the president is legitimately the one making the order, so nobody can simply yoink the briefcase and call down nukes even if they have the codes. Despite this, the football's existence is highly controversial and only became even more dangerous with the unhinged presidency of Donald Trump. The chain of command is exclusively concerned with verifying that the POTUS is the one making the order, not whether he should be. In theory, if the president went insane, there's not really any legal means for others to stop him from causing the apocalypse. Boris Yeltsin tried to talk Clinton into abandoning it, but he mistakenly believed that the football prevented nuclear strikes without his authorization and refused. Both Nixon and Trump are known to have been talked down from ordering strikes on hostile nations like Iran and North Korea, but the fate of the world basically rests in the hands of a sane president or at least one person in the chain of command disobeying orders for the sake of humanity. Major Harold L. Hering was infamously kicked out of the Air Force in 1975 for questioning how he knew that the order for a nuclear strike was a lawful, sane order. Wanting to know that he wasn't bombing Moscow on the orders of a raving drunk was beyond his need to know, and he was "failure to demonstrate acceptable qualities of leadership" for daring to question the system. Even outside this, the centralized nature of the football remains an issue despite it not being useful to anyone else; during the January 6th invasion of the Capitol, the backup football with Pence ended up within 100 feet of rioters rampaging through the building where it could have theoretically been captured and had its contents posted online. quote:‘The Bag Man can part with the ciphers and EPOC frequency only to the President, or the Vice-President, should anything happen,’ Holy went on. ‘Should the President meet with a fatal accident overseas, the ciphers would be immediately null and void, unless the Vice-President were with him.’ In real life, the Gold Codes used to authenticate a nuclear strike have a shockingly simple security feature: memorization. The card containing the codes actually has multiple dummies, with the president being required to memorize which ones are correct. Issuance of a wrong code will make it obvious that either the football has been stolen or the president is too incompetent to be dropping nukes. quote:‘Good.’ To Bond’s surprise, Jay Autem Holy looked quite happy. ‘Would you be surprised to learn that we already have the eleven ciphers, the programs?’ Just don't send him against fish. quote:‘I’ve never heard that before.’ This is like an Austin Powers bit. quote:‘You’ll get the frequency for us, won’t you, Bond?’ The query came out through a series of deep breaths, as he gained control of himself. ‘Think of it as your revenge. I promise you it will be used for good, and not to create havoc and disaster.’ Sure. quote:He had no option. ‘Yes, I’ll do it. It’s only a few numbers you want, after all.’
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May 11, 2021 05:01
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chitoryu12 posted:Chapter 13: The Numbers Racket oh come on
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May 12, 2021 00:06
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While on a trip, I’ve been reading Thrilling Cities, the travel book Fleming published based on his 1959 and 1960 travels around the world. It serves as not only a very fun view into late 50s culture from Hong Kong to Hamburg, but also a rare opportunity for Fleming to talk more candidly about his opinions and views. For instance, despite how Bond himself speaks about homosexuality, Fleming enjoyed frequenting Berlin drag clubs and makes jokes about LGBT culture (like the “Homintern” of the arts) that he would have needed to get from a friend like Noel Coward, who he visits for dinner with Charlie Chaplin in Geneva.   
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May 14, 2021 14:41
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I’ll be back and able to type in a few days. Meanwhile, it turns out I wasn’t the only one to notice a confusing car-induced plot hole by Fleming: https://flemingsbond.com/sunbeam-alpine-talbot/
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May 21, 2021 19:41
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chitoryu12 posted:For instance, despite how Bond himself speaks about homosexuality, Fleming enjoyed frequenting Berlin drag clubs and makes jokes about LGBT culture (like the “Homintern” of the arts) that he would have needed to get from a friend like Noel Coward, who he visits for dinner with Charlie Chaplin in Geneva. I'm thinking of that New York sketch he did for Octopussy and the Living Daylights... 007 in New York posted:He had heard, though he had never succeeded in tracing them, that one could see blue films with sound and colour and that one’s sex life was never the same thereafter. That would be an experience to share with Solange! And that bar, again still undiscovered, which Felix Leiter had told him was the rendezvous for sadists and masochists of both sexes. The uniform was black leather jackets and leather gloves. If you were a sadist, you wore the gloves under the left shoulder strap. For the masochists it was the right. As with the transvestite places in Paris and Berlin, it would be fun to go and have a look.
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May 22, 2021 02:03
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Chapter 14: Bunker Hillquote:Tigerbalm and Happy, the strong-arm men in residence, cheerfully took Bond back to his room and left him, keeping up their good humoured banter the whole time. "Oh well, time to take a few sleeping pills and a stiff vodka soda to forget about that." quote:Stretching out on the bed, he looked up at the ceiling and put his mind to the current problem. It all seemed so unreal, particularly in this pleasant room with its white gloss paint and flowered wallpaper. Yet here he was, with the knowledge that downstairs a scientist had already run simulations for criminal activities and was now training people for some other, more dangerous mission using microcomputer games techniques and his own particular skills. I love how Bond barely even reacts to SPECTRE being back. Since this is the Fleming continuity, this is the third incarnation of the organization he's seen. "Welp, Blofeld's daughter got eaten by a giant snake and that's still not enough." quote:M had been clear about the way this kind of situation should be handled. ‘If they take you in – if any organisation takes you in – then you will have to split yourself in two,’ he had counselled. First, Bond should not think of any recruitment as either serious or long-term; second, he had to believe it was serious. The ultimate paradox. ‘If they want you for a specialist job, you must at all costs treat it as a reality. Work it out, as they would expect of you, like a professional.’ So.....act? Like a normal spy job? I think they only have to give Bond that notice because he's so used to think that his regular job is to burst in and yell his identity at the villain with a lot of winks. quote:So now, lying on the bed, with part of his mind treating the situation with grave suspicion, James Bond began to tackle the problem of how to get hold of the EPOC frequency for these people. But, inevitably, the second plan will work because it's the one the audience hasn't been told anything about? TV Tropes (which I will always reference as a good shorthand for this kind of thing despite their reputation here) refers to this as the Unspoken Plan Guarantee. There's no drama if something that's meant to go right goes completely right. By the same conceit, you would expect that the best plan is one that the audience is surprised by. But then you start running into this trope so often that you immediately assume that any plan that isn't told to the audience is a guaranteed success. Obviously we'll already be thinking Bond will win just because of the nature of the books, but the fact that the book has specifically laid out a plan that's totally improbable and unknown to us just makes us realize that Gardner is going to pull something out of his rear end. When you look back on Fleming's work, it becomes clear just how rarely he invoked this trope despite being such a famous thriller writer. From the knife Bond slips into his sleeve at dinner in Dr. No to the note he leaves in the airplane toilet in Goldfinger, Fleming's Bond is almost always playing fair with the audience even if it might stretch plausibility a few times that circumstances play out favorably. quote:He was still working out this reserve plan when he realised what was different. Once Tigerbalm and Happy left, there had been no click of key in lock. Ah, there's our idiot. quote:The corridor took him out to a landing, the landing to the main staircase, which brought him into the hall. There, all possibility of real freedom ended. Seated near the door, dressed in jeans and a rollneck, was a young man he recognised from Erewhon. Another graduate from that alma mater lounged near the door to the laboratory stairs. Ugh. Reenactors. quote:The room, however, was crowded and Bond recognised most of the faces from Erewhon. Only Tigerbalm and Happy appeared out of their depth, heavy and sly among the sunburned, soldierly young men. Will they even matter in the plot? quote:‘I said, did you rest well?’ Simon was repeating. We're now at the "Villains shoving massive amounts of salad and cheese at Bond" stage of writing. quote:They sat together at the end of one of the longer tables, Simon seeing to it that Bond had his back to the three leaders. No! There's only 6 chapters left! quote:Bond just checked himself from making a fatuous remark, nodded and rose, winking at Simon as he followed the Master of Endor, as he now thought of him, from the room. He could feel the eyes of Rahani and Zwingli on his back as they left. There was a young man guarding the stairs down to the laboratory. He did not even signify that he had seen them, almost ostentatiously looking the other way.  If Gardner had done his research on video games for this book, he would have inevitably come across the ZX Spectrum and its chunky joystick controller. It was released in the UK in 1982 by Sinclair Research and became the first major mainstream home computer and gaming system in the country, earning Clive Sinclair a knighthood. It was both legally and illegally copied all over the world (with the illegal copies being most prominent in Eastern Europe and the USSR, which had a far inferior native base of research in home computers) and would continue production into 1992. quote:They passed through into the long room with its map of the Eastern seaboard of eighteenth-century America; Boston with Bunker’s Hill and Breed’s Hill to the north, Dorchester Heights jutting out to enclose the harbour, and the townships of Lexington and Concord inland. For no apparent reason, Bond recalled hearing Americans pronounce Concord with a shortened second syllable so that it sounded like Conquered. Jay Autem Holy was smiling down at the board, with its movable open rectangle, and all the games paraphernalia set at the players’ places. That's really a sentence you typed there, huh. quote:The rules were simple enough. Each player took a turn, which was divided into four movements: Orders, Movement, Challenge and Resolution. Some of these moves could be made in secret by marking the location of troops, or matériel, on a small duplicated map of the playing area, a pile of which rested in front of each player. Dear lord, did Gardner just want to play grog games instead of write a book? quote:‘Once we get it on computer, the whole business becomes faster, of course,’ Holy remarked as they began their Orders phase – with Bond playing the British. He remembered what Peter had told him: that his opponent almost expected the British to make the same moves – and mistakes – as they had in history.  After the battles of Lexington and Concord officially started the American Revolution, Boston found itself besieged by rebel militia on April 19, 1775. While the city could remain resupplied by sea, land routes from Boston into the rest of the continent were totally cut off and the Charlestown Peninsula north of Boston had many hills that could allow for artillery to fire into the city if the Americans moved in. General Thomas Gage, in command of the British forces in Boston, began making a plan to break out of the city in June: they would march out of Boston to take Dorchester Heights, eliminate the rebel forces in Roxbury, and then sweep north to the Charlestown Peninsula and secure it. The British plans were overheard by a man who reported them to the Americans. This gave them time to reach the hills first and begin fortifying them. As the British realized what was going on, they acted very slowly in assembling an assault and the Americans had ample time to complete their fortifications and get reinforcements. The terrain the British had to cross was very difficult, with waist-high grass and uneven ground, and the Americans had sufficient cover to fire at close range (the famous "whites of their eyes" quote) and cause heavy casualties. Combined with various tactical blunders, it took the British three tries to take the hills. While it technically ended in a British victory and colonial General Joseph Warren was killed, the British suffered massive casualties, including a significant chunk of their North American officer corps and most of General Howe's field staff. The subsequently more cautious British approach to campaigning only helped the Americans. quote:Bond opened by showing patrols going out of Boston to search the surrounding countryside. He also made secret forays in order to gain control of the high ground at Bunker’s and Breed’s Hills, together with the Dorchester Heights, at an early stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUc4GkMN1qs Where this book strangely intersects with the Bond films is actually this scene. Notice how despite being a computer game and simulation developer, they're playing a tabletop game while Holy just keeps talking about how it'll eventually be on the computer? In my original thread, I covered the story of Kevin McClory and the legal controversy regarding the rights to Thunderball. In 1975, McClory was legally free to produce his own adaptation of the story, which ended up being called Never Say Never Again and casting Sean Connery in the role of an aged Bond. McClory updated the story to more modern sensibilities, replacing the crashed V bomber with cruise missiles, and the great Max von Sydow as his new Largo. Originally, Gardner intended for this scene to be a computerized Battle of Waterloo game between Bond and Holy. However, the film (released in 1983 as this book was being written) included a bizarre sequence in which Largo and Bond compete in a holographic video game with electric shocks for each hit they take. Gardner was prevented from doing such a similar scene, and thus changed it to the board game. quote:‘The fascination for me,’ Holy observed as Bond took out two arms caches and around twenty revolutionaries on the Lexington road, ‘is the juxtaposition of reality and fiction. But, in your former job, this must have been a constant problem.’ "Honestly, my life has been weird as poo poo since the new guy took over." quote:‘I trust you are living in reality now, friend Bond. I say that because what is being planned in this house can also change the course of history.’ In real life, December 1774 was long before the war began. The colonies and British government were still at the stage of boycotts and protesting legal acts. It wouldn't be until April 1775 when the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired. Despite the earlier claims that Holy is unable to respond to ahistorical reactions to his strategies, they're already in a totally alternate history! quote:‘Your part in our mission . . .’ he took out five of Bond’s men ‘. . . is of exceptional importance, and you will undoubtedly have to use much fiction and illusion, to accomplish it.’ The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, or FOBS, was a nuclear missile system developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. I brought it up briefly during For Special Services when Luxor was talking about space-based weaponry being the future. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons in space, which the Soviets tried to get around by claiming that because these nukes would not actually complete a full orbit (merely entering low-Earth orbit altitude before dropping on their target) they didn't count as "orbital weapons." As I explained in that book, Holy is wrong for the same reason as Luxor. Space-based weapons turned out to not be the future, due to advances in surface weapons like nuclear missile submarines, and the FOBS was actually in the process of being dismantled as Gardner wrote this. quote:‘The figures are there for anybody to see.’ Bond would soon have to make a serious challenge from the high ground, as Colonial forces struggled upwards in increasing numbers, restricted by both the climb and the weather.  Gardner was writing extremely contemporarily. Starting in 1981, there were widespread protests in Europe and the United States over the deployment of Pershing II and other nuclear missiles. In addition to basic protests against nuclear armament in the first place, the deployment of nukes in West Germany was viewed by protesters as a violation of Article 26(1) of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, which prohibited West Germany from preparing for an offensive war. The Plowshares, a pacifistic Christian movement, went so far as to break into Pershing II manufacturing facilities to sabotage equipment and parts and pour blood on the machinery. This would only be exacerbated by a 1985 incident in which three American soldiers in West Germany were killed when an unintentional electrical charge ignited the rocket propellant. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1988 would finally remove these missiles. quote:‘Nobody tells the protesters in the United States either.’ Bond watched as his opponent edged even larger numbers of men towards the waiting British guns, and fought a small skirmish along the constant battlefront of the country between Boston and Concord. I thought this game could take hours. They're already months through it during one conversation! quote:‘And yet, if it came, James, what would happen?’ Reading Cold War thrillers is always fun in hindsight. quote:‘Unless the United States and NATO have done something to equalise things. That’s what is going on, isn’t it?’ Why this? Bond asked himself. Why talk to me about the balance of power, and the place nuclear weapons play in that balance? As we found out in 2016, you don't even need orchestration! quote:By now it was late January in the game and, at a Challenge, Bond had to reveal there were British forces ringing the far side of Concord. Jay Autem Holy started to cut them apart with his Colonial Militia, sniping across the winter landscape. Bond saw how addictive this kind of exercise could become. You could almost feel the cold and fatigue which played havoc with men’s strength and fighting ability. You even heard the crack of musket fire, and saw the blood staining the dirty snow in some farmer’s field. Bond is going to become a Hearts of Iron gamer, isn't he? quote:Dr Jay Autem Holy was not really talking about the lopsided balance of power. He was talking about the need to end the whole system which controlled that balance. A true Scotsman. quote:Holy leaned back, temporarily stopping play. ‘We’re involved in halting the race to the holocaust – nuclear, neutron or chemical. To you is entrusted the task of getting that EPOC frequency. Now, do you yet have a way?’ As though he did not expect an answer, he played through his turn, concentrating on bringing men well into the British firing zone. Yes, I am sure SPECTRE is totally devoted to bringing about world peace. quote:‘I have the makings of a plan. It will require certain information in advance . . .’ And yet you were fine with combat before April 1775! quote:‘And this is the fiction,’ Bond said. ‘The reality’s history – even though a great deal of history happens to be fiction too.’ This just makes Holy seem like a loving idiot! He was playing a game that had already diverged from history at the very beginning, but is upset that his opponent doesn't mindlessly repeat everything that happened in real life for no good reason? I almost want to say that Gardner legitimately forgot when the Revolutionary War happened when he set his dates up there. It's the only way to explain Holy being anything but the biggest dumbass of any Bond villain. quote:Then, as suddenly as the rage had begun, it stopped. There was no dusk, no twilight, for sanity appeared to return, and he stood, looking for a brief moment like a chastened child. After that display, I'd be convinced that Holy's entire plot was doomed to fail. quote:Then the silence ended, and a laugh began to rise from the tall man’s throat, the head nodding in great beaky movements, as if preparing to tear his prey apart, savaging it with that sharp bill. Shut up, Bond! quote:Realising that he might have overplayed his hand, and not certain why he had done it, Bond said he had not been sure, but had suspected the truth from their first meeting. ‘It just happened that I’d read the old file: they resurrect it from time to time, you know. I thought I knew your face the moment we met – when I came here with Freddie. During the evening, I became more convinced, but still not absolutely certain. After all, if you are Jay Autem Holy, you’ve been dead a long time.’ "Not certain why he had done it" Even Gardner doesn't know why he's writing Bond being so stupid! quote:‘And what if you had still been on active service, Mr Bond? Would you have gone running to your superiors? And why, incidentally, is the file resurrected regularly?’ Gardner's Bond is so stupid that he's only being saved by his enemies being stupider. quote:Everyone was assembling in the main laboratory, all the young bronzed soldiers from Erewhon. Bond saw that Zwingli was still in deep conversation with Tamil Rahani, as though they had not stopped since lunch.
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May 26, 2021 01:09
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Chapter 15: The Balloon Gamequote:‘No, this one’s on me.’ She saw the look in Bond’s eye, and followed his gaze, for he had suddenly fallen silent, moving quietly around the room, examining every inch. Please never speak again. quote:The cruel lips didn’t tilt into amusement. There was nothing to be amused about now. Even though he appeared satisfied, throughout the time they were together in the room all conversation was conducted in a low murmur. Foolish, he thought, for that would be as audible as yelling should Cindy be proved wrong. ....she's just asking you to take something. quote:‘They’ve got four back-up copies,’ she said at last, ‘and I just hope to heaven the Old Bald Eagle doesn’t need to run the fourth, because this is it.’ He's literally just staring at her and waiting for her to do something evil! quote:‘There’s been no way, James. Only the inner circle have seen it, played with it – if that’s the right word.’ Gardner is trying to make Bond seem like a genius who's manipulating events for his secret master plan but he's just making it more confusing. quote:‘So what good’s it going to do? You want me to try and get it out?’ Not the time. quote:‘Something like that.’ Bond was trying to reckon how much time they might have; whether the team with their cameras, log books and directional microphones had advised M that something important was happening at Endor. Would M let them sweat it out? Possibly. The cautious, diplomatic intriguer had waited before, almost until the last moment. What terrible writing. "You've been at Endor before." Cindy had been at Endor before. quote:‘This is the biggest gathering yet?’ I also would never be able to stand a pair who go by "St. John-Finnes and Dazzle." quote:‘I expect it’ll be even more claustrophobic soon,’ Bond said. ‘I’d say you, Peter and myself are destined for oblivion – particularly you and Peter. Anybody who isn’t completely in their confidence.’ "With nothing conveniently evil done to it?" quote:‘Far as I know. Why?’ No! quote:Bond smiled for the first time. ‘Well, I’d appreciate it.’ Gardner really wrote a female lead whose entire purpose is to be The Slut. quote:She described her room, suggesting that she should enter in the dark, open the side window and pull those curtains before switching the light on. ‘I’ll be able to see exactly where the guards have placed themselves. You’ll have to crawl to the side window on your belly.’ ....how often do you do this act quote:He gave her a look usually reserved for the more cheeky jumper and pearls set at the Regent’s Park Headquarters, checked the ASP, and said the sooner they got on with it the better. Bond knew that, if Holy’s men had not yet tampered with the car, it would certainly be given a going over before they let him out – if they let him out. And I thought Christopher Wood was bad. quote:Cindy opened her door, whispering, ‘Okay, down boy.’ He dropped on to his stomach, beginning to wriggle his way across the floor. Cindy was humming to herself and interspersing the low, tuneful, bluesy sound with soft comments. Okay, I'm sure this will be goo-- quote:He shakes my ashes, freezes my griddle, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkIz2KQRKYg I got nothing. quote:Flat against the roof, his body pressing down as if to merge with the lead surface, Bond lay silent, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Then he froze, hearing first the sound of feet on gravel, then the voices. There were, as Cindy had said, two of them, speaking in heavily accented English. One made a hushing sound. Is this just a normal thing Cindy does every night? Strip while singing old blue jazz in front of the window? quote:Carefully he started to move towards the centre of the roof, where he knew the skylight lay. Then, suddenly, he dropped flat again as the guards also moved – his own breathing sounding so loud that it must draw them to him. But the two men were now backing away from the house, heads tilted, trying to get a better view of what was happening just inside Cindy’s lighted open window. I'm conscious of how much I want this chapter to end. quote:Though probably less than a minute, it seemed to take an eternity to reach the skylight, which moved at his first touch. Very gently he slid it back, staring down into the darkness below. Same! quote:‘I say this once only. Predator, emergency . . .’ and Bond launched into a fast two-minute message which he hoped would be clearly intelligible if Jay Autem Holy really intended to send him out from Endor to steal the United States EPOC frequency within the next few days. Bond is going to get caught when his boner hits the door. quote:The interior lights remained on for a few seconds, then the garage was once more consigned to darkness. He turned, to head back to the Mercedes, when a sharp double metallic click brought him to a halt.
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Jun 4, 2021 22:19
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Two things I think of reading this last update. The "Go to Horny Jail" image macro and Is Bond supposed to be like pushing 60 at the youngest? I still feel that while Gardner is, next to Amis, probably the best of the post-Fleming Bond writers, he's inconsistent as hell and his books occupy an uncomfortable space between something like the "Men's Adventure" Nick Carter-Killmaster pulp books and Fleming's best Bond fiction. Gardner obviously does a lot of research and puts effort into it, but his plotting goes from interestingly weird to Saturday morning cartoon, sometimes in the same book (or at worst, like the last one, where it was a confusing wet fart). I do have to say, and should have earlier, that I am enjoying the plot hook of wargaming. I think it's kind of fascinating that it is the villains obsession, although I am probably biased as I'm a dabbler in the hobby myself. I have a feeling that the reputation of wargaming in Britian might have been fairly different than it is now in America. In 1978 there was a short lived TV show there called Battleground, (hosted by Edward Woodward, who had also played the wargamer/assassin Callan in TV movies and a series) that featured wargamers fighting some historical battle in each episode. I get the impression that the general reputation of the hobby was a bit eccentric but also intellectual, and not so much about fantasists.
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Jun 13, 2021 05:52
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Dr. Sneer Gory posted:Two things I think of reading this last update. Gardner takes a somewhat ambiguous timeline. I believe his basic idea was to time-shift the series so that everyone would be a similar age as the end of The Man with the Golden Gun in 1980 and then make an attempt at aging him each year. Also, apologies for the delay, I got sick. I'm back to typing again.
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Jun 13, 2021 20:36
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Wait a minute. You’re typing all these updates out?!
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Jun 13, 2021 21:52
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poisonpill posted:Wait a minute. You’re typing all these updates out?! Oh, the quotes are all copied and pasted. But I need to try and come up with good interjections and do research, which is a lot of work.
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Jun 13, 2021 23:00
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chitoryu12 posted:Gardner takes a somewhat ambiguous timeline. I believe his basic idea was to time-shift the series so that everyone would be a similar age as the end of The Man with the Golden Gun in 1980 and then make an attempt at aging him each year. I've noticed that before, it's why it surprised me he specified being trained during the second world war, which would put him at maybe 58 at the youngest. And in my mind you have no need to apologize, you are the lifeblood of the thread.
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Jun 14, 2021 02:23
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Chapter 16: Epocquote:Bond could see him quite clearly, outlined against the lighter colouring of the wall. In a fraction of a second, his brain and body calculated the situation and made a decision. I don't find it coincidental that the gay man's dialogue was written in a way that implied a female character at the end of the last chapter. quote:As Peter Amadeus came closer, Bond sensed more than saw that the small pistol, just visible, held away from the body, was waving around like a tree in a gale. The precise little man was clearly very nervous. Oh, and now he's hysterical! Great! quote:‘Right,’ said Bond soothingly, hoping the young man’s voice would not rise too high. ‘If we can think of a way, would you help? Give evidence if necessary?’ What about a small-size policeman? quote:‘What’s in it? Tell me.’ This is....very trusting. quote:Lying on the flat roof in the chill night air, pressed hard against the lead, he realised that Cindy had exhausted her repertoire. The guards were very close, just below the garage roof. He could hear them muttering, commenting on what they had seen: all the usual soldiers’ innuendoes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEG9toH5d5U quote:He lay tense, listening, for about five minutes, until they moved away, following their routine pattern, covering the front of the house from all angles. It took a further ten minutes for Bond to snake his way back to the window. Sigh. quote:‘Thank you. I’ve done all I can . . .’ He was going to say something about Amadeus, but changed his mind; sufficient unto the day. Cindy lifted her arms to his shoulders, and Bond found himself with no power to resist. This man is not allowed to write about sex. quote:It was almost dawn when he crept back to his own room. The house was still silent, as though sleeping in preparation for action. He ate some of the food, threw the rest down the lavatory and flushed it three times to clear it away. Only when that was done did Bond lie down on his own bed, still fully dressed, and drop into a refreshing sleep. Well, that all seems to have worked out perfectly! quote:At the first noise he was awake, his right hand going for the ASP. The "I am very serious" room. quote:‘Come in, friend Bond.’ Stop calling him "Tigerbalm", it's so unintimidating. quote:‘The plan you outlined to me – the way to get your eyes on the current EPOC frequency . . .’ "They're just....really, really not believing that their mortal enemy is working for them now. It's kind of really contrived and being a spy to infiltrate terrorist organizations is your entire job." quote:‘Those who speak for SPECTRE say that you already know they are not squeamish. They also say that it is useless for us to threaten you with death or anything else, if you do not carry out orders to the letter.’ He gave the ghost of a smile. ‘I happen to believe that you’re with us all the way. If you’re doubling, then I’d have to admit you’ve fooled me. However, just so that we all know where we stand, I am to tell you the worst that can happen.’ "They promise that they have no intent of doing the nuclear holocaust regardless. Definitely not." quote:‘I . . .’ Bond began, but was stopped short by Holy’s glare. An obscure term for "hypocrite" being used by a guy who wants to show off his literary knowledge in every sense except writing talent. quote:The green eyes hardened, diamonds reflecting light. ‘Not worthy, James. Not if you’re with us.’ As yes, Professor Dent as played by Anthony Dawson! quote:Bond knew Tony Denton well. They had attended courses together in the past, and, a few years ago, had been on a bring-’em-back-alive trip to secure a defector who had walked into the Embassy in Helsinki. Yes, he knew good old Tony Denton, though it would make no difference at all if his instructions had been taken to heart at the Regent’s Park Headquarters. "Chlamydia, perhaps?" quote:‘I trust not . . .’ then he realised this was not the time for facetious remarks. ‘No. Nothing. Should she have?’ Oh my. quote:‘I haven’t set eyes on your wife recently.’ As little as possible if we want this book to end. quote:Tigerbalm came for him shortly after six o’clock. They had not locked him in, though food was served on a tray, brought up by a young Arab. Tigerbalm was very polite. I only just realized that Zwingli was built up as a major character and he hasn't actually gone up to Bond and spoken a word until chapter 16 of 20. quote:Bond did not want to disillusion the man. But a scheme of SPECTRE’S that was not for their good alone, he reckoned, would never see the light of day. Yes, Bond is incredibly obvious at this! quote:They waited while the call was being switched through to Bill Tanner, and it was his old friend Tanner’s voice which next came on to the line. "I understand you have difficulty with that." quote:‘So far, it’s playing to packed houses.’ Tamil Rahani sounded pleased. ‘The dispatch rider brings the frequency up from Cheltenham at around eleven forty-five?’
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Jun 16, 2021 02:47
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I can’t tell if it’s my bad comprehension or this book but I have no idea who any of the characters are anymore
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Jun 16, 2021 12:44
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I hate this paragraph so much. quote:There was a table, two chairs and a telephone; no pictures, windows or any other furnishing. The room was lit by two long neon strips, and Bond saw immediately that the chairs and table were bolted to the floor. It was familiar ground: an interrogation room. Start with a description of the furniture, okay, cool…then talk about the absence of several things, but bring it back around to the furniture again? Okay, that’s a choice, but following that up with mistaking neon lights for fluorescent just takes it to a whole new low. And then, to wrap it up with, “lol, y’know, an interrogation room!” like that makes it all better? It feels like a first draft that never got looked at by an editor.
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Jun 16, 2021 15:40
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Chapter 17: Down Escalatorquote:The metal forests of antennae which rise above the massive pile of government buildings running from Downing Street along Whitehall and Parliament Street, conjure up thoughts of communications flying through the night; of telephones waking ministers, calling them to deal with some important crisis; or the fabled telegrams crossing the airwaves from distant embassies. Presumably with like 12 BMWs all trailing him. quote:He did not spot any shadows, but had no doubt that they would be there. It did not worry him. The street where he would finally stop would be cleared of all but authorised vehicles so there was little chance of him being observed once the car had been parked. He's just been in there the whole time?! quote:Less than forty minutes later, Amadeus was freed, speechless and stiff from the cramped ride, but all the same duly grateful. You're more surprised by Percy showing up than Freddie, the woman who you didn't even know was in on it? quote:‘James, darling. Oh, it’s so good to see you.’ Spoilers: she will let go again. quote:‘Commander Bond! Miss Proud!’ M was genuinely embarrassed. ‘I, er, think we have important work to do.’ This is the second book in a row where Bond has been flirting and sleeping with an undercover agent without ever knowing. quote:Bond caught Freddie’s steady gaze, returning it with a sardonic smile and cocked eyebrow. Then, M drew the conference to order. Oh, now you feel bad about sleeping around? quote:‘I’m not certain. She was a great deal of help, last night. Even tried to steal a copy of their main program – the simulation of whatever they’re doing.’ He turned to M. ‘It’s on SPECTRE’S instructions, this business, sir, did you know?’ At least he's polite about it... quote:‘So we have no ideas about this simulation?’ M sucked at his pipe.  quote:M’s brow creased as he repeated the words under his breath. Airship. quote:‘Hence Balloon Game. They get on to this field using the man they’ve lifted. It does appear to be terribly clever – there are three cars, twelve men, and the hostage, if that’s what he is. Result? They take over the whole shooting match. There is a final scenario, and that’s to do with flying the airship somewhere. It got very technical and . . .’ Time for even more stuff to suddenly get revealed at the last minute! quote:‘It’s been kept under wraps for some time – a good few months in fact,’ M began. ‘These things always take the devil of a time to organise, and the participants wanted it to remain very low profile. Tonight, members of a Summit Conference are to arrive in Geneva. In fact, the first main session is this very night. They’ve taken over the whole of Le Richemond Hotel for three days . . .’  Since 1925, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has used branded airships as major promotional tools. The Europa N2A was constructed in 1972 as a member of its GZ-20 model line, so named because it was the first Goodyear blimp to be stationed outside of the United States. Based out of Rome, it continued to make tours of Europe for 14 years before being decommissioned and dismantled. That's right. You thought this was going to be a book about computers and video games. It's actually a book about James Bond and the Goodyear blimp. quote:‘But when did Goodyear arrange this?’ Bond had not heard a whisper about any Summit Conference. Has the dastardly SPECTRE infiltrated the great and innocent Goodyear company? quote:‘Right. Well, 007, all we have to do now is sew up the remainder of this unpleasant lot. Any ideas?’ Did Gardner ask Goodyear if he could do this? quote:There were two possibilities: full nuclear strikes by one of the superpowers, or a simultaneous strike by both, knocking each of them out, leaving nothing but desolation on the two great continents for years to come. It was unthinkable. M said so, loudly. Bond pointed out that Jay Autem Holy had talked only of peace. If only it were that easy... quote:‘It’s been reckoned that the process would take around twenty-four hours in the USA. I should imagine it would be a little longer in the Soviet Union. Just as there’s always been a Doomsday Machine, we’ve had a Swords to Ploughshare Machine for the last three decades.’ There have been numerous treaties dismantling weapons and banning certain kinds of tests over the decades, but South Africa remains the only nation to fully disarm its nuclear stockpile. quote:Bond was right. Let him be supplied with the EPOC frequency, and a homing device, one or two of the Armourer’s more fancy pieces of equipment, and a good surveillance team. ‘You can then go back from whence you came, 007. Somewhere along the way, they’ll pick you up, and we’ll track you – safe enough if the team stays well back.’  The shoe tracker is lifted directly from the film adaptation of Goldfinger. Rather than the book's somewhat more technologically plausible "hot or cold" tracker, the film used a spy-fi tracking beacon that simply displayed the beacon's location as a dot on a big radar screen in the Aston-Martin. While a larger magnetic tracker was played on Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce for the slow chase across Europe, Bond kept the second in his shoe and activated it on Goldfinger's jet rather than leaving a note in the toilet with an offer for the hangar workers to get money for turning it over to Felix Leiter. Much less desperate. In real life, these tiny trackers are not known by me to have been available even by 1984. quote:She clung to him, kissed him and told him to take care. There would be time enough once this was over, Bond said, there was no doubt about it, and the haymaking season would last all summer. Percy smiled the knowing smile women the world over smile when they’ve got what they really want. Just....no romance for you ever, Gardner. quote:Back in the conference room, they gave him the EPOC frequency that had come into effect at midnight. It was now one in the morning, and Bill Tanner gave the final hasty briefing. Of course. quote:First, a pair of cars, travelling very fast, forced the Bentley to give up the outside lane. Bond cursed them for a couple of fools and pulled into the middle lane. Before he realised what was happening the two cars reduced speed, riding beside him, keeping him in the centre, while two heavy goods lorries came up in the slow lane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gdAWPH8v28 Coincidentally or not, an arcade game where this trick is a major part of the gameplay came out in 1983 when the book was being written. Spy Hunter was originally meant to be a Bond game, but Midway was unable to secure the license and replaced the branded elements with more genericized ones and an original score. quote:The cars to the right and lorries on the left crowded him, like sheep dogs working together until he had no option left. With a slight jerk, the Bentley’s front wheels touched the ramp. With the steering wheel bucking in his hands, Bond gave the engine a tweak and glided into the great white moving garage. Well, that cocked up instantly. quote:Hands grasped at his clothing, tearing it from him, handing over other things – socks, underwear, grey slacks, white shirt, tie, blazer, and soft leather moccasins. You could...check? It literally has Lexan grip panels so you can just look and see if it's loaded. quote:The team had worked with such speed and proficiency that Bond hardly had time to take in what was going on. As the truck shuddered to a halt, Simon opened the Bentley’s rear door, half pushing Bond into the back, and in a second the truck’s doors were again open, and they were reversing out. Simon was in the driving seat. Imagine if a Goodyear exec read this book and found out their airship was getting hijacked for the finale. quote:A mile or so back down the road, the observer in the trail car had noted that their target seemed to pull off the motorway for a few minutes. ‘We’re closing on him. Can’t make it out. You want me to call in?’
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Jun 20, 2021 22:09
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Absolutely unbelievable. Fellow goon LatwPIAT came across this by accident.  Gardner has been copying ads this whole time.
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Jun 22, 2021 18:02
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I didn't need to see that to be able to tell you that Gardner just lazily opened up the morning paper and saw an article about wargaming, another about computers, and then some gun ad below that, and that was how he came up with this plot
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Jun 22, 2021 18:07
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That, and he read the book or saw the movie Black Sunday and wanted the Goodyear blimp in his book too.
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Jun 25, 2021 01:28
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Chapter 18: The Magic Carpetquote:The executive jet had Goodyear symbols all over it – a smart livery, with the words Good Year flanking the winged sandal. It also had a British registration. Yep, we're really going there with this. quote:Bond resisted the temptation to make a run for it, try to attract attention, or cause a commotion. The realisation that he was outnumbered, outgunned and at an extreme disadvantage held him back. Whoever had laid out the ground plan of this operation, Holy, Rahani, or the inner council of SPECTRE itself, had done so with admirable attention to detail. For all he knew, the whole gang on board could have a genuine affiliation to Goodyear. In any case, he did not even know whether the ASP was loaded. So far there was at least a small amount of trust between him and the main protagonists. Exploit that trust to the full, he told himself, and just go along for the ride. Bond really just shoved that gun in his pocket without even glancing at it. quote:After takeoff, an attractive girl served drinks and coffee. Bond took the coffee, not wishing to dull any of his senses. He then excused himself and went to the pocket-sized lavatory at the rear of the aircraft. Not my Bond! quote:The ever-watchful Simon sat near the door, eyeing him with wary amusement. But there was no attempt at restraint. Wait, why did you even forget one of the key features of the ASP just to have Bond figure out that it's empty a few pages later anyway? This is exactly like what happened in the kill house. He was given an empty gun....and then had his ammo just sitting there in front of him before any threats came in. Gardner sets up a potentially interesting setpiece and then kills any tension as fast as possible. quote:Back in his seat, Bond took stock. The takeover of the Goodyear base, together with the airship Europa, had already taken place hours before Bill Tanner had checked. True, the Swiss police were now alerted, but they would only make SPECTRE’S task easier by keeping out any unwanted meddlers. The only possibility of the Service suspecting anything amiss would be the discovery that the surveillance cars had lost him – but heaven knew when they would find out. These people had taken no chances. By stripping him, they had effectively cut off any possible pursuit. The surveillance teams could be led a pretty dance, all over the country, following the constant bleeps of the homers coming from a pile of clothes in a lorry or car. At the time of writing, the SALT II treaty limiting the Soviet Union and the United States to an equal number of ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers and restricting the use of multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRV) was 4 years old and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was in negotiations. As Gardner says, no nation is willing to engage in total disarmament. The emphasis is more on non-proliferation, limiting the ability of new states in their research into nuclear weapons and promoting cooperation for the peaceful use of nuclear power with the goal of eventual disarmament. So far, there's no timeframe for this ever being possible. quote:He dozed, not asleep, but conserving his energies for the time when ingenuity and strength might be needed. Yet in that state, pictures of the aftermath of Down Escalator, as described by his chief, churned over and over in his mind. There would be a worldwide economic crisis, with a market crash of enormous proportions, all confidence lost in the two superpowers. M had said that any economist or social historian could map out the events which would follow the undercutting of financial stability. The United States and the Soviet Union would be at the mercy of any other nation, however small, which possessed its own nuclear capability. As he took in the pictures M had drawn, Bond became even more determined to prevent Operation Down Escalator, no matter what the cost to himself. ‘Anarchy will rule,’ M had said. ‘The world will divide into uncertain alliances and the man in the street, no matter what his birthright, nationality, or politics, will be forced to accept a way of life which will drop him into a dark and bitter well of misery. Freedom, even the compromise freedom which exists now, will be erased from our existence,’ M had declaimed in a rare burst of almost Churchillian oratory. Finally, Gardner's M actually speaks more than a few words at a time. quote:‘Seatbelt, James.’ He opened his eyes. Jay Autem Holy was shaking his shoulder. ‘We’re coming in to land.’ Crash the plane into the blimp! quote:‘Nice place, Berne,’ he observed casually, and Holy nodded. The most unassailable team: a James Bond villain organization, and the S w i s s. quote:From the window, Bond saw the transaction take place – the small pile of passports handed over, inspected and returned, with a salute. There would be no customs inspection, he thought. The Goodyear jet must have been running in and out of Berne and Geneva for a month or so now. They would have the formalities cut down to the fine art of mutual trust. In his travel book, Thrilling Cities, Ian Fleming was not much different in his opinions on Switzerland, Geneva especially. As much as he enjoyed his time there during the 1960 road trip, in true Fleming fashion, he felt like he had stumbled upon a place so dedicated to perfection and suppression of negativity that it would occasionally explode in horrific crimes on the parts of its people, such as the story of Pierre Jaccoud. He makes a similar comparison to "lunacy" in the literal sense as he did with Red Grant in From Russia, With Love, talking about Swiss citizens in Zurich getting together every week to get plastered on schnapps and howl at the moon while falling down in the streets. quote:They took the most direct route – straight to Lausanne, then along the lake road, following the line of the toy-like railway. Holy was quiet for most of the journey, but Simon, sitting in the front passenger seat, occasionally turned back to make small talk. The first drink James Bond ever drinks, an Americano in Casino Royale, is just that with sweet vermouth added. This also isn't far off from Ian Fleming's time as a young man in Kitzbühel, where his mother sent him to learn German in preparation for entering a government job. He spent most of his school time skiing and womanizing, in addition to meeting and befriending actual British spies Conrad O’Brien-ffrench (Agent Z3) and Alban Ernan Forbes Dennis. He consequently failed his entrance exams upon returning home and was set up with the journalism job that would finally get him into spying. quote:Between Lausanne and Morges the cars stopped at a lighted lakeside restaurant. Simon and the Arab boy, in turns, brought out coffee and rolls to the cars. The sheer normality of their actions grated on Bond’s nerves, like a probe on a raw tooth. Half of his mind and body urged him to take drastic action now: the other more professional half told him to wait; bide his time and use the moment when it came. Even now, Bond is fighting the urge to do something stupid. quote:‘Where are we heading?’ he asked Holy soon after the breakfast break. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU7tVjMYBys quote:They also met the first police checkpoint, the cars slowing almost to a standstill before the sharp-eyed uniformed men waved them on.  Lake Geneva is 224 square miles, making it the 24th largest lake in Europe and the largest in the Rhône river area. The lakeshore has been occupied since before the Romans conquered it in 121 BC. quote:There were no less than three police cars at the airstrip entrance, which was little more than a metal gateway set into an eight-foot chain-link fence, encircling the entire area. In the distance, a police car patrolled the perimeter slowly and as thoroughly as only the Swiss perform their official duties. Has James Bond ever met a German he wasn't suspicious of? quote:Holy confined himself to the most pertinent questions, and was given precise, military answers in an American accent. Smooth. quote:Holy looked at him, a shadow of concern crossing his face. Bond, you fool. quote:The cars came to a halt. ‘I do hope you’ve given us the correct frequency, James. If you haven’t . . . Well, I’ve already warned you of the consequences; consequences for the entire world, my friend . . .’ Clearly having learned Bond's lesson from the end of From a View to a Kill. quote:Simon, Holy and the German, Rudi, were joined by Rahani and General Zwingli – a little procession walking spryly towards the hangar. Rahani’s men were everywhere, Bond now saw, spread out, half concealed by what cover they could find, with a full armament of carbines and automatic weapons. There were even two guards on the small door inserted in one of the great sliding doors of the hangar. That's...thorough. quote:‘These are the good men from Goodyear.’ He split the Goodyear, as though trying a pun. ‘They will remain here until our mission is completed. They will be quickly dispatched – all of them – if one person makes an attempt to break out. They are being fed and looked after by the other team.’ He indicated four men placed between the guns. ‘It is uncomfortable for them. But if all goes well, they will be released unharmed. You will notice there is one lady.’ When the hell did he get that? quote:‘You’ll only be the co-pilot. The one who sees to it that the pilot does as he’s told. There’ll be a nice irony in it, if by any chance you have doubled on us, Commander Bond. Come!’ "Informal." quote:The pilot realised it would be foolhardy to remain too stubborn. He cocked his head on one side. I think this is how Nixon tried to handle the Watergate investigation. quote:‘Guess you’re right.’ Gardner is spending more time on research than planning his plots. quote:It was all technically straightforward, and Nick even made a little drawing to show Bond where the valves lay, above the forward windshield, and how the ballonets were filled with air from scoops below the small engines. He had hardly finished when Simon came over, glancing at his watch. They looked up, to find the office almost deserted. Great Pointed Sausage is my band name. quote:As they reached the ship, they could see the others were already on board the curved gondola, which seemed to hang under the great gleaming envelope. Nick climbed up first through the large door which took up a third of the gondola’s right-hand side. Bond followed, with Simon taking up the rear and pulling the door closed behind him. "But behold, Bond! We have tied Cindy Chalmer to the guy ropes as further incentive!" quote:Reaching forward, Nick started both engines, one after the other, very fast, and set the air valves to fill. As Bond watched, Simon leaned forward, felt inside his jacket and removed the ASP. There was a double click as one round went into the breech, then the weapon was handed back. ‘You kill him, if the Colonel gives the order. If you try anything clever, I’ll shoot you.’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s91Tbn8jts
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Jun 27, 2021 00:09
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--- quote: He dozed, not asleep, but conserving his energies for the time when ingenuity and strength might be needed. Yet in that state, pictures of the aftermath of Down Escalator, as described by his chief, churned over and over in his mind. There would be a worldwide economic crisis, with a market crash of enormous proportions, all confidence lost in the two superpowers. M had said that any economist or social historian could map out the events which would follow the undercutting of financial stability. The United States and the Soviet Union would be at the mercy of any other nation, however small, which possessed its own nuclear capability. As he took in the pictures M had drawn, Bond became even more determined to prevent Operation Down Escalator, no matter what the cost to himself. ‘Anarchy will rule,’ M had said. ‘The world will divide into uncertain alliances and the man in the street, no matter what his birthright, nationality, or politics, will be forced to accept a way of life which will drop him into a dark and bitter well of misery. Freedom, even the compromise freedom which exists now, will be erased from our existence,’ M had declaimed in a rare burst of almost Churchillian oratory. ---- Christ, what a pile of horseshit. 'All confidence will be lost'...give me a break!
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Jun 28, 2021 17:01
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Chapter 19: Ploughsharequote:In his time James Bond had either flown, or flown in, most types of aircraft, from the old Tiger Moth biplane to Phantom jets. Yet never had he experienced anything like the Europa.  To be technical, a "blimp" is a non-rigid airship, one which uses only its internal pressure to maintain its rigidity. The Europa is thus a true blimp. After the retirement of the line it was part of, all Goodyear Blimps are now semi-rigid airships, which have a stiff keel along its main length. The most famous zeppelins, named after the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin company, are rigid airships; they have a completely rigid skeleton with skin stretched over the inside, using separate gas bags for lift. While airships had been flying for decades at that point, including being used for reconnaissance and bombing in World War I, the heyday of the airship began with the launch of the Graf Zeppelin in 1928. It made the first circumnavigation of the world and first non-stop crossing of the Pacific by airship, fueling interest in their use as passenger liners. Rigid airships became such a fad that the Empire State Building was built with a docking mast on its spire. The US Navy made a number of airships to act as fighter carriers, though they gave up on the idea before World War II due to multiple crashes and improved development in seaplanes. The airship was far faster than ocean liners and more energy-efficient while being able to maintain a similar level of luxury with cabins, bars, and restaurants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH-mhZLuGRk The era of the zeppelin finally ended in 1937, when the LZ 129 Hindenburg suddenly exploded in a fireball while landing in New Jersey. Zeppelin zeppelins used flammable gases, in this case hydrogen, and also had flammable paint on the outer skin. It's still not confirmed exactly what started the fire, only that it killed 35 people and abruptly ended the airship era. Developments in heavier-than-air aircraft with World War II have led to airships in general being obsolete for normal cargo and passenger purposes. quote:The Europa dipped its nose, almost stood on it, turning a full circle. At fifteen hundred feet they had a panoramic view of the lake: the mountain peaks touched with snow against the light blue sky, Montreux in the distance, the French side of the lake with the town of Thonon looking peaceful and inviting.  quote:‘And what,’ Bond called back, ‘are we really doing, anyway? What is this caper that’s going to change history?’ Finally, a target a Glaser Safety Slug will work properly on. quote:He would die very soon after taking out the hardware, but for Bond this was as nothing compared to the satisfaction of knowing he would once more have smashed SPECTRE’S plans. Maybe they would try again. But there were always other men like himself, and the Service had been alerted. For a guy who was built up as a major villain, he certainly has few lines. I wonder why that would be? quote:Nick glanced back. ‘To Le Richemond? About four minutes.’  Le Richemond started in 1875 as a 25-room guesthouse by Adolphe-Rodolphe Armleder, the son of a wine barrel maker, renting from a building that belonged to artist François Diday. The hotel would expand and be passed down from father to son for four generations until it was a beautiful palace on the southern tip of Lake Geneva, where it meets the Rhône. This ended in the 1990s when it was sold, and it's now part of the Dorchester Collection of Brunei. quote:‘I said ready, Jay.’ "Seriously, we've known you for decades." quote:‘drat you, Bond.’ Rahani was half out of his seat. ‘No gunplay – not in here. Have you given us the frequency, or is that as false as your own loyalty?’ Wondering why Zwingli got so little page time despite being built up as the second of the two main villains, yet this Tamil Rahani was showing up for half the book? Because it's another twist! quote:Jay Autem Holy let out a wail of despair echoed only by General Zwingli’s roar of anger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSZtoveaa0A Like many elements in Gardner's books, something similar would appear in a Bond film, in this case almost immediately. For Roger Moore's final outing, A View to a Kill in 1985, the climax takes place initially aboard a Zorin Industries blimp before turning into a fire axe fight with Max Zorin (played by a young Christopher Walken in his prime) on top the Golden Gate Bridge. The real blimp was an Airship Industries Skyship 500, registration G-B1HN, which had been used in 1984 to fly over the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles as part of the opening ceremony. quote:Bond made to grab at the Arab’s Walther, now lying on the floor. He felt the sting of a bullet cutting a shallow furrow along the flesh above his right hip and another sing past his ear. Yes, Tamil Rahani will be Gardner's new Blofeld! quote:‘Could you close the door, please.’ Nick’s voice was as calm as only an experienced pilot’s can sound under stress. ‘I’ve got to find somewhere to drop this blimp.’ That was....abrupt. quote:They sat together on the balcony of a private room in the lakeside hotel: M, Bill Tanner, Cindy Chalmer, Percy and Bond, whose side still stung from the long bullet burn, although it was now dressed. M has already figured out what we know: Bond is a loving idiot who's just very good at impromptu violence. quote:‘Come, come. How dare you reproach your superiors in this way,’ M put in tartly. Suddenly he leaned forward and placed a hand gently on Bond’s arm and said in an uncharacteristic tone of paternal concern, ‘It was for your own good as much as ours, James. After all, you might have found a way of bringing in Holy – or Rahani, come to that. But that wasn’t uppermost in our minds. We had to find a way of restoring your good name. Look on it as a sort of rehabilitation.’ I honestly forgot about the inheritance thing by this point. quote:Cindy spoke for the first time. ‘What about Dazzle? Mrs St John-Finnes?’ Or aroused  quote:Percy gave her a wicked smile. ‘You, Cindy, are going straight back to Langley. The order came through this, morning.’ We know, Gardner. You don't have to tell us. quote:‘Come to think of it,’ M mused, ‘I wonder if you should forgo that leave, 007. It may be vital to follow up . . .’ As usual, Gardner's final chapter is as short as his opening. Chapter 20: End of the Affair quote:They first flew to Rome, and stayed for a week at the Villa Medici. Percy had never been to Rome and Bond enjoyed showing her as much as one can fit into seven short days. ...calf-slapping? quote:And during all their joy, Bond kept a wary eye on strangers, assuming that Percy, being a lady of the same trade, was doing likewise. Wouldn't recommend that with his history. quote:As the trip drew to an end they found a small bungalow hotel, away from beehive modern glass and concrete palaces. It was close to a secluded beach, which could be reached only by clambering over rocks. Their room looked out on a slope of dusty olive trees and oddly Victorian-looking scrub. An unusual trait for a Blofeld successor. quote:The short, sallow-faced man who was the most accomplished of SPECTRE’S silent killers, peered through the lattice of the blinds, smiled and carefully withdrew a six-inch ivory blowpipe. With even greater care he loaded the tiny wax dart filled with deadly pure nicotine and began to slide the end of the pipe through the lattice. Percy lay, eyes closed, nearest the window. That's the poison you chose? quote:Her reaction was conceived in long training, for she was like an animal in her instinct for danger. With a sudden move, she slid from under a startled Bond, one hand going for the floor and the small revolver that always lay at her side of the bed. Well don't make me have to hunt for the meaning of this scene, Gardner! quote:‘That’s part of it. Not all, though.’ She paused to sip her wine. ‘I killed, James, automatically and . . .’ Book's over. It sucked. What more is there to say that we haven't already said? I'm just glad it's done. Because the next book we cover is going to be a little different. It's illegal.
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Jun 29, 2021 21:16
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Was there any significance to the fact that "the Arab boy" of the last few chapters never got a name or was it merely Gardner being lazy?
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Jun 30, 2021 03:34
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Let's be honest, I couldn't tell any of the characters apart at the end. The names were just a jumble of people doing things, and I couldn't keep them straight. At least I could remember the general age, sex, and race of one character in this book.
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Jun 30, 2021 04:14
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Midjack posted:Was there any significance to the fact that "the Arab boy" of the last few chapters never got a name or was it merely Gardner being lazy? Absolutely none. He appears bringing Bond a tray of food right before he goes to MI6 to get the EPOC code, and then I guess Gardner wanted an extra thug for the finale but had no other meaningful characters so he just had the kid wander around grunting and looking blankly at things before accidentally getting shot.
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Jun 30, 2021 04:54
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In 1985, John Gardner didn't release a Bond book (not including the American release of Role of Honor). He instead paused to write The Secret Generations, the first in a trilogy about the Railton family and their involvements in British espionage between 1909 and 1935. However, we have a Bond book to cover....sort of. It's best if you know who wrote it.  Hatfield was born on January 7, 1958. All accounts I can find of him (I've used about a dozen sources, including interviews and testimonies from people who knew him, to piece together what I think is the full story) indicate that he was a generally intelligent man who could have really made something of himself, but was utterly incapable of playing by the rules. As a teenager, he was arrested for writing bad checks. In 1978, he served 7 months in jail for burglary. At the peak of his criming, he hired a hitman to plant a car bomb. Most articles say that he was targeting one or more of his supervisors. He alternately says that he was a co-vice president of the company (a federal housing authority) and the other vice president was his target because she involved him in a scheme to blackmail their superior, and that they were both his superiors having an extramarital affair that led to blackmail and murder attempts that he got caught up in before resigning. His stories about his past tend to differ depending on when he tells them. Who to believe? Well, in 1992 (while still in prison for the attempted murder; the bomb malfunctioned because he hired a cable TV repair guy instead of a real hitman) he was convicted of embezzling $34,000 of federal housing funds. As best as I can tell from piecing together the numerous articles, he was trying to kill witnesses who could testify against him. But Hatfield was also a writer from a young age. He begged his parents for an electric typewriter when he was 12, and submitted a manuscript to horror writer Ruby Jean Jensen that was rejected. Despite his lack of success, he impulsively bragged to friends and co-workers in the early 1980s that he had won a contest by Glidrose Publications to be the next Bond author (he later claimed in an interview that he had entered the contest and was so sure that he won that he prematurely celebrated, but no contest is known to have existed and Gardner would still be writing Bond books for another decade). As the years went by with no book appearing, they began to get suspicious. To defer his lie, he quickly penned a James Bond novel and had it vanity published. He even ripped off elements from other book covers to make the cover art; the "James Bond" comes from the cover of The Authorized Biography of 007 by John Pearson, Roger Moore's silhouette is from the poster of For Your Eyes Only, and even the title is actually that of The Killing Zone by William Crawford Woods.  The book is actually not that terrible, especially not after what Gardner's given us. It's not very "Bond" though. It's more of a schlocky pulp action novel that happens to have James Bond characters in it, with plenty of cursing, gratuitous gore, and an excessive amount of weapons and gadgets half-remembered from issues of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Only two copies are known to exist, both with signatures written to female co-workers on them; John Cox of The Book Bond got one off eBay in 2000, while the second was found by a Bond fan at a Texas book show. One of the biggest Bond fan sites, Universal Exports, thankfully put up the full text of the novel for everyone to read. As for what happened to Hatfield? After getting out of prison he wrote a few more books, including a biography of Sir Patrick Stewart and some X-Files mass market paperbacks, before writing the one that would ruin him.  Fortunate Son was published in 1999 in the run-up to the 2000 election. Hatfield had won the Isaac Asimov Foundation Literary Award for Outstanding Biography in 1996 for his Patrick Stewart book and was working as a journalist in Texas at the time, which was enough to get St. Martin's Press to give him a five-figure advance on a book about the history of George W. Bush and the Bush dynasty. The lurid book is essentially a hit piece claiming that Dubya had never earned anything legitimately, with the Bush family a modern oligarchy secretly in control of Texas and ensuring his preferential treatment at all times, committing crimes up to and including assassination to stay in power. It claimed that Bush committed various crimes that were expunged from his record thanks to his father leaning on local judges, an ironic claim from this fuckin' guy. It also tried to sloppily connect Bush to Osama Bin Laden, pre-9/11, through family relations and oil company funding. After over 70,000 copies were printed and sent out, the book was suddenly recalled. Research done into the book's claims found many of them difficult to corroborate or actively fraudulent. Award-winning journalist Pamela Colloff recognized a passage in the first chapter as plagiarized (and edited) from one of her Texas Monthly articles, which led to her contacting other journalists and piecing together how many of them had unexpectedly found themselves in the book. Despite claiming to have interviewed hundreds of people for the book, Colloff contacted 17 of the people attributed in the bibliography and found all of them shocked to hear they were included in the book. Hatfield had essentially slapped together various quotes and snippets from articles, interviews, and even radio segments without attribution. St. Martins soon compared photographs of Hatfield to the James Hatfield who was arrested for the car bombing in 1987 and pulled the plug, despite his initial claim that it was mistaken identity. Hatfield would re-publish the book through punk publisher Soft Skull, but the damage was done. He only made it worse by immediately confession to his various sins in the foreword of the book, naming enough names in the process that he got sued for libel. At the Book Expo America on June 1, 2001, he attempted to hold a press conference in the wake of Bush's inauguration for a third edition of Fortunate Son; the results were poor, with the reporters calling out Hatfield for the criminal and fraud he was and Hatfield growing antagonistic in response. Hatfield fell into drug addiction and growing paranoia, claiming that Bush operatives were spying on him and bugging his electronics. He was checked into rehab after attempting to literally drink himself to death. Finally, on July 18, 2001, Hatfield was found dead. The previous day, police had confronted him with charges of financial identity fraud (attempting to open a credit card in someone else's name) and confiscated his computer, giving him 24 hours to tidy up his affairs and turn himself in. Instead, he drove to a motel, rented a room, and overdosed on pills and an entire bottle of gin. He still had 18 months left on his parole from his attempted murder and housing fraud, which meant he would be sent right back to prison if convicted, and he had become paranoid that it was a conspiracy by the Bush family and the CIA to assassinate him in a faked prison yard fight. Not wanting to be taken alive, he killed himself. Hatfield's death dropped him back into obscurity. After his 15 minutes of fame were up from his failed book, he had nothing left except being part of the conspiracy community. He was one of the few who had actually become a conspiracy theorist about Bush before 9/11, as the former governor was hardly as famous in 1999 as he would be in 2002. His erratic behavior almost from childhood, and the verifiable falsehoods he intentionally pushed, makes it difficult to figure out exactly how much of his belief system or personality was real. Everything I read about his 21st century breakdown suggests he really did think he had stumbled onto something big and was now a target for assassination by The Man, even when there's also evidence that he purposefully lied or twisted the truth for it. All of the drugs and alcohol surely wouldn't have helped his mental state. Did he, at one point, convince himself that he really was a Bond author?
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Jun 30, 2021 04:54
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Chapter 1: Suddenly a Corpsequote:Bill Tanner, Chief of Staff of Her Majesty's Secret Service, paced impatiently back and forth on the cobblestone sidewalk outside of the British Consulate in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He gazed up and down the street. It was virtually deserted from the earlier sights and sounds of commuters hurrying home to their families and dinners; the stillness was somehow ominous. It was as though he stood in a vacuum, the very air holding its breath.  Puerto Vallarta is a beach resort town in Jalisco, on the western coast of Mexico. It was a tiny village that expanded at a glacial pace until the 1960s, when John Huston used it as the filming location for The Night of the Iguana and the Mexican government finally resolved confusing land ownership disputes that stifled development. At the time Hatfield wrote this, the economic downturn in Mexico had devalued the peso and turned Puerto Vallarta into an extremely cheap tourist destination for Americans. quote:Tanner studied the darkening sky as a natural ocean breeze began to rise. A quick glance at his watch revealed that his driver was now twenty-seven minutes in the arrears. Moose-like? quote:Tanner backed away from the officer's intimidating form, but the Mexican grabbed his arm, halting his progress with a grip of steel. Thank you for the science lesson. quote:Tanner's arms were seized from behind and jerked backwards - he had not thought the Mexican could recover and resume the chase so quickly. Before the nelson grip was complete, Tanner had lashed backwards with his heel and made contact causing one arm to become free. An elbow jab that just missed the groin brought the top of Tanner's body forward. Before he could recover, ten fingers that felt like steel bolts had sunk into the ganglia at the base of his neck, rendering Tanner unconscious immediately. Absolutely no wasted time in this book! Only 3 pages in and we have the villain making his appearance, so over the top that some anime would consider it excessive. quote:The German rapped his knuckles on the glass plate separating them from the front seat, and the driver turned the car down an isolated and narrow dirt road. Well, I don't see how Tanner can get out of thi-- quote:Doberman frowned and nodded to the Chinese whose smile closed the almond eyes to slits - slits that glittered. Then he pulled the trigger, effectively covering the rear windshield with the head of Lieutenant-Colonel William "Bill" Tanner, second highest-ranking member of the British Secret Service and, incidentally, Commander James Bond's best friend. HOLY poo poo!
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Jun 30, 2021 08:34
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