GRGR, 1:2 Actionable Intelligence

[jporter]

Section two raises some interesting questions which will
be answered later in the plot, and provides some insights
of its own.

In succession, we are introduced to "the crew" at the
maisonette, a revelry of bananas which can only be
described as excessive, and then, a quite amazing
tour de force of prose, which literally grabs our minds
in order to explain by example the nature of Pirate's
"condition," ending with an accommodation, of sorts,
with The Adenoid, achieved only with a combination
of cocaine and companionship. It was utterly amazing
when it first came out in '73, and still amazes me. It
completely undercuts whatever notions we were
beginning to harbor regarding a "standard" linear tale
about WW II. How could anyone conceive, after this
outburst, that the narrative would be able to include
within its purview a straightforward treatment of the
horrors of the death camps? But, of course, that might
be just the point, eh? Straightforwardness, linearity,
LOGIC- all these old fashioned  expectations, once thought
to be rather useful, might be just the processes that
somehow led to, or allowed, the huge, brittle, crystalline
edifice of rationalizations that deluded the world into a
conspiracy of complacency. There is definitely a spectacle
at hand. In section 2, the author has given notice:

	It has happened before, but there is nothing
	to compare it to now.

Along the way, we are introduced to something known
as "The Firm," whose control over him whom we initially
thought might be our hero- in some epic battle with the
forces of darkness- seems nearly total, and whose thirst
for intelligence, in order to maintain its control, monstrous-
capable of massive intrusions into the lives of those it
deems of interest- in its quest for such actionable intelligence.

More curious, given the opening setting of the novel-
WW II, London, The Firm appears to be on "our" side,
Undercutting, again, the simple dark/light dichotomy we
were introduced to in the two halves of section one.
Isosceles knife, indeed, this could be The Pit and the
Pendulum.

And while the tone of section one does lend it something
of a mythic character, comparable to FW, this text seems
to run on exquisitely inlaid factual details of the historical
setting, making it more similar to Ulysses. But Ulysses has
been done. It's part of that Crystal Palace. This is new, and
section 2 is the first clue about just how new this trip is going
to be. Hold on to your heads, it seems to be saying, and
don't forget to duck going into and out of this Musaceous
Room. Historical detail meets magical irreverence- taking
over, replacing the "night's old smoke..."

	not so much through any brute pungency or
	volume as by the high intricacy to the weaving
	of its molecules...

Even unto low puns, it seems, but always concerned with
the accuracy of the details of time and place- super real.
Detailed, like the head of Pirate's fanciful walking stick
(or Beaver's Churchill pipe, way later), whatever lengths
necessary- to get the message of this new medium across.

Again, it's seems not so much the creation of a point or
points of view, as the recreation of a field of view, in which
various nodes are more or less probable, purchase is
scarce, and identity, when attained, draws almost immediate
interest by The Firm as another possible source of AI.

Not to mention, by the reader, as a possible source of
meaning.


jody