even for very long. Acute stress elements discomfort him.
He has to manage what we believe to be four people. Even though heâs armed and they arenât this is a tricky task. If he continues, heâll need to sleep and become off-guard. Youâll send in food and drink, but heâll fear this might disguise the start of an onslaught.
âAnd this brings us to what Iâm sure we all recognize as the most significant bit of repetition in the conversations. I refer, of course, to the word âunfavourablyâ. The negotiator says: âA resolution is possible, John. We mustnât allow things to turn out unfavourably.â This constitutes an expert piece of persuasiveness by the negotiator. The word âresolutionâ is positive, wholesome, and a clever way of cloaking what it actually means to John: defeat. One can imagine a proud battleship named HMS Resolution . And then the âweâ ââ we mustnât allow things to turn out unfavourablyâ â the âweâ suggests they are partners in dodging an unfavourable outcome: mates, buddies, joined together by exemplary good sense. Itâs as though Olly and John have the same purpose and will plan it jointly. But John isnât having any of it. The fudge factor doesnât work for him now. He answers: âWhat does unfavourably mean?â
âDread forces him to see through the carefully vague terms used by the negotiator. âUnfavourably means me dead and maybe others, doesnât it, Olly?â Reality is about to overwhelm John. He feels he must retaliate somehow. He must dominate. He is pushed by this urge into absurdity. He suggests the besiegers might fear the hostages are already dead since there is âno noise or interruption from the people hereâ. But this notion, this tease, this attempt to scare and horrify, drastically weakens his position, doesnât it? Living hostages are the only appreciable weapon he has. If the hostages were dead his own security would be finished. Heâd have no bargaining resources left. It recalls that formula we hear now and then from the peace process in Northern Ireland. He would have put his armament âbeyond useâ.
âSuch a consummate error in his logic and instincts and tactics tells us he is coming apart, is already a near wreck. I believe, on the evidence of these conversations, that he is intelligent and quick-witted enough to acknowledge this to himself soon, and to seek to end things in some other way than âunfavourablyâ, i.e. by submission and release unhurt of his prisoners. Youâll point out, Desmond, Colin, that submission itself is for him an unfavourable outcome and one he has so far resisted.â Rockmain went into another chuckle, though briefer. Then he said: âYes, submission will mean matters end unfavourably for him, but not as unfavourably as if he is hugely outgunned and designated a target.â
Rockmain did a fair job at mimicking Ilesâs voice. ââThis is Gold. Shoot him.â John might not be aware of the full damage he caused in Sandicott Terrace, but he will know he opened fire and hit the Jaguar. Heâll understand that if police kill him now because he wonât yield thereâll be no public or judicial outcry. Everyone will accept he was an all-round active menace and had to be made safe. He will have opted to be made safe by getting wiped out. He wonât opt for it.â
Chapter Fourteen
2007
Obviously, Manse Shale knew he had to be careful about what he said to Naomi and how he said it. When he concentrated at full power he reckoned he got most of his grammar fairly OK. He certainly did not regard grammar as just something fancy. He believed it was sensible to have as much of it as you could by listening to people who already had it and noticing the way they put it all together. You might not get it all at once, but a few very small errors might happen
He has to manage what we believe to be four people. Even though heâs armed and they arenât this is a tricky task. If he continues, heâll need to sleep and become off-guard. Youâll send in food and drink, but heâll fear this might disguise the start of an onslaught.
âAnd this brings us to what Iâm sure we all recognize as the most significant bit of repetition in the conversations. I refer, of course, to the word âunfavourablyâ. The negotiator says: âA resolution is possible, John. We mustnât allow things to turn out unfavourably.â This constitutes an expert piece of persuasiveness by the negotiator. The word âresolutionâ is positive, wholesome, and a clever way of cloaking what it actually means to John: defeat. One can imagine a proud battleship named HMS Resolution . And then the âweâ ââ we mustnât allow things to turn out unfavourablyâ â the âweâ suggests they are partners in dodging an unfavourable outcome: mates, buddies, joined together by exemplary good sense. Itâs as though Olly and John have the same purpose and will plan it jointly. But John isnât having any of it. The fudge factor doesnât work for him now. He answers: âWhat does unfavourably mean?â
âDread forces him to see through the carefully vague terms used by the negotiator. âUnfavourably means me dead and maybe others, doesnât it, Olly?â Reality is about to overwhelm John. He feels he must retaliate somehow. He must dominate. He is pushed by this urge into absurdity. He suggests the besiegers might fear the hostages are already dead since there is âno noise or interruption from the people hereâ. But this notion, this tease, this attempt to scare and horrify, drastically weakens his position, doesnât it? Living hostages are the only appreciable weapon he has. If the hostages were dead his own security would be finished. Heâd have no bargaining resources left. It recalls that formula we hear now and then from the peace process in Northern Ireland. He would have put his armament âbeyond useâ.
âSuch a consummate error in his logic and instincts and tactics tells us he is coming apart, is already a near wreck. I believe, on the evidence of these conversations, that he is intelligent and quick-witted enough to acknowledge this to himself soon, and to seek to end things in some other way than âunfavourablyâ, i.e. by submission and release unhurt of his prisoners. Youâll point out, Desmond, Colin, that submission itself is for him an unfavourable outcome and one he has so far resisted.â Rockmain went into another chuckle, though briefer. Then he said: âYes, submission will mean matters end unfavourably for him, but not as unfavourably as if he is hugely outgunned and designated a target.â
Rockmain did a fair job at mimicking Ilesâs voice. ââThis is Gold. Shoot him.â John might not be aware of the full damage he caused in Sandicott Terrace, but he will know he opened fire and hit the Jaguar. Heâll understand that if police kill him now because he wonât yield thereâll be no public or judicial outcry. Everyone will accept he was an all-round active menace and had to be made safe. He will have opted to be made safe by getting wiped out. He wonât opt for it.â
Chapter Fourteen
2007
Obviously, Manse Shale knew he had to be careful about what he said to Naomi and how he said it. When he concentrated at full power he reckoned he got most of his grammar fairly OK. He certainly did not regard grammar as just something fancy. He believed it was sensible to have as much of it as you could by listening to people who already had it and noticing the way they put it all together. You might not get it all at once, but a few very small errors might happen
Similar Books
