This Immortal: feathers or lead?

Ash Wyllie wrote:
> bob sullivan opined
>
>
>>Okay, so I just finished re-reading _This Immortal_ for the 20th-odd
>>time, and I feel like an idiot... 85% of the way through the book,
>>there's a scene where Moreby has Conrad and Hasan tied up in the
>>Valley of Sleep, and he's about to stick a knife in Conrad's belly.
>>The following exchange takes place:
>
>
>> Moreby: Has the fear driven you mad, Commissioner?
>
>
>> Conrad: Feathers or lead?
>
>
>>I don't understand the 'feathers or lead' reference. At all. Can
>>somebody enlighten me?
>
>
> It is explained earlier in the book.
>
> -ash
> Cthulhu for President!
> Why vote for a lesser evil?
>

Whats heavier a ton of feathers or a ton of lead? I'll go look it up
but unless its an in-book thing it seems that he's saying something
along the lines of "Well it was a short trip anyway."
 >> Stay informed about: This Immortal: feathers or lead? 

C. T. Lillies opined

>Ash Wyllie wrote:
>> bob sullivan opined
>>
>>
>>>Okay, so I just finished re-reading _This Immortal_ for the 20th-odd
>>>time, and I feel like an idiot... 85% of the way through the book,
>>>there's a scene where Moreby has Conrad and Hasan tied up in the
>>>Valley of Sleep, and he's about to stick a knife in Conrad's belly.
>>>The following exchange takes place:
>>
>>
>>> Moreby: Has the fear driven you mad, Commissioner?
>>
>>
>>> Conrad: Feathers or lead?
>>
>>
>>>I don't understand the 'feathers or lead' reference. At all. Can
>>>somebody enlighten me?
>>
>>
>> It is explained earlier in the book.
>>
>> -ash
>> Cthulhu for President!
>> Why vote for a lesser evil?
>>

>Whats heavier a ton of feathers or a ton of lead? I'll go look it up
>but unless its an in-book thing it seems that he's saying something
>along the lines of "Well it was a short trip anyway."

It is a choice that makes no sense, and doesn't matter. The speaker has
decided on the correct answer ahead of time. What ever the answer you give is
wrong.

-ash
Cthulhu for President!
Why vote for a lesser evil?
 >> Stay informed about: This Immortal: feathers or lead? 

Earlier in the book is this key exchange:

"So feathers or lead?" I asked him.
"Pardon?"
"It is the riddle of the kallikanzaros. Pick one."
"Feathers?"
"You're wrong."
"If I had said 'lead'...?"
"Uh-uh. You only have one chance. The correct answer is
whatever the kallikanzaros wants it to be. You lose."
"That sounds a bit arbitrary."

Conrad is being obstinant and is warning Moreby that he's about to get
what's coming to him, that the kallikanzaros (Conrad) is going to get
his way because that's the way things are meant to be. It's like
rock, paper, scissors except there are only two options and Conrad
always wins without having to say what he had chosen.

Or to put it another way, this is Conrad's version of what the
Terminator would more bluntly express decades later as "Hasta La
Vista, Baby!"

Chris

mun dot ca not mac to reply



bob sullivan <bsullivn.RemoveThis@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<I7adnTcSyPlDjBrcRVn-uA.RemoveThis@comcast.com>...
 > Okay, so I just finished re-reading _This Immortal_ for the 20th-odd
 > time, and I feel like an idiot... 85% of the way through the book,
 > there's a scene where Moreby has Conrad and Hasan tied up in the
 > Valley of Sleep, and he's about to stick a knife in Conrad's belly.
 > The following exchange takes place:
 >
 > Moreby: Has the fear driven you mad, Commissioner?
 >
 > Conrad: Feathers or lead?
 >
 > I don't understand the 'feathers or lead' reference. At all. Can
 > somebody enlighten me?
 >
 > Thanks,
 > bob<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: This Immortal: feathers or lead? 

ckovacs wrote:
 > Earlier in the book is this key exchange:
 >
 > "So feathers or lead?" I asked him.
 > "Pardon?"
 > "It is the riddle of the kallikanzaros. Pick one."
 > "Feathers?"
 > "You're wrong."
 > "If I had said 'lead'...?"
 > "Uh-uh. You only have one chance. The correct answer is
 > whatever the kallikanzaros wants it to be. You lose."
 > "That sounds a bit arbitrary."
 >
 > Conrad is being obstinant and is warning Moreby that he's about to get
 > what's coming to him, that the kallikanzaros (Conrad) is going to get
 > his way because that's the way things are meant to be. It's like
 > rock, paper, scissors except there are only two options and Conrad
 > always wins without having to say what he had chosen.
 >
 > Or to put it another way, this is Conrad's version of what the
 > Terminator would more bluntly express decades later as "Hasta La
 > Vista, Baby!"
 >
 > Chris
 >
 > mun dot ca not mac to reply
 >
 >
 >
 > bob sullivan <bsullivn DeleteThis @comcast.net> wrote in message news:<I7adnTcSyPlDjBrcRVn-uA DeleteThis @comcast.com>...
 >
  >>Okay, so I just finished re-reading _This Immortal_ for the 20th-odd
  >>time, and I feel like an idiot... 85% of the way through the book,
  >>there's a scene where Moreby has Conrad and Hasan tied up in the
  >>Valley of Sleep, and he's about to stick a knife in Conrad's belly.
  >>The following exchange takes place:
  >>
  >> Moreby: Has the fear driven you mad, Commissioner?
  >>
  >> Conrad: Feathers or lead?
  >>
  >>I don't understand the 'feathers or lead' reference. At all. Can
  >>somebody enlighten me?
  >>
  >>Thanks,
  >>bob

Good one. I am particularly fond of that book, though its been awhile
since I read it.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: This Immortal: feathers or lead? 

Thanks, everybody. I'd forgotten the exchange from earlier in the
book. That helps a great deal.

~bob

 > ckovacs wrote:
  >> Earlier in the book is this key exchange:
  >>
  >> "So feathers or lead?" I asked him.
  >> "Pardon?"
  >> "It is the riddle of the kallikanzaros. Pick one."
  >> "Feathers?"
  >> "You're wrong."
  >> "If I had said 'lead'...?"
  >> "Uh-uh. You only have one chance. The correct answer is
  >> whatever the kallikanzaros wants it to be. You lose."
  >> "That sounds a bit arbitrary."
  >>
  >> Conrad is being obstinant and is warning Moreby that he's about to get
  >> what's coming to him, that the kallikanzaros (Conrad) is going to get
  >> his way because that's the way things are meant to be. It's like
  >> rock, paper, scissors except there are only two options and Conrad
  >> always wins without having to say what he had chosen.
  >>
  >> Or to put it another way, this is Conrad's version of what the
  >> Terminator would more bluntly express decades later as "Hasta La
  >> Vista, Baby!"<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: This Immortal: feathers or lead?