MDDM Ch. 60 Washington (592)

[Doug Millison]

"Young Lambton next rides up to Washington,-- the Colonel's ancestral home,
in fact,-- to consult with the Armorsmith who fitted him out for his
Crusade. Galloping toward the glow of the forge,-- visible for miles now
and then reflected in the Wear,-- he considers his basic tactical problem,
which is the Worm's reported ability, even hack'd into separate pieces by
conventional sword-work, to reassemble itself and fight on." (592)

Interesting that it's a place called Washington where our young hero shops
to arm himself for the battle with the Lambton Worm, and fitting, given how
it's currently the capital (with its own river) of the country, that has, I
read, become the world's largest arms merchant.

I can't decide if that reference should be considered flattering to the
Father of Our Country or not, and I guess that could depend on how you feel
about weapon systems suppliers and other companies (and their shareholders,
and employees) who profit from war and the influence they have in
present-day Washington, D.C.,  or, more generally, about  violence as a
solution to human problems.

It's tempting to think of the Worm coiled around the White House, whose
occupant is so quick to identify an Evil Other and seek to slay it, no
matter what the cost or how suicidal the project might be.

That Enemy able "to reassemble itself and fight on" sounds a bit like the
the US's opponent in  Vietnam, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese army, in
the 60s and early 70s when Pynchon is believed to have begun work on this
novel...and like the al Qaeda forces that Bush the Younger, Slayer of
Evil-doers more recently scattered around the world.