Excerpt. Again.

"There are two types of people one must always be cautious of. Smart men and beautiful women."

Lisa looked at Frank questioningly.

"Smart men know what others don't, and use it to their advantage. They become unpredictable for they rely on the existence of secrets. Beautiful women know what everyone knows - that they're beautiful. They become unpredictable for they rely on other people changing their normally predictable behavior to impress them or to avoid being seen in bad light."

"What about smart women?" Bob retorted.

Frank decided to wait until a moment of silence had passed before replying. It gave his words more gravitas, he thought.

"Smart women take care of themselves, they do not bother with schemes or ploys. They have no need for them."

"Unless they're pretty?"

"Unless they are pretty."

Frank gave Lisa a long and hard look, signifying that he thought she was pretty. She felt it as an insult, as he hadn't done so when he was talking about intelligence.

"So you think of good looks as a handicap? That's... unusual."

"Not really. You see, Bob, a pretty woman can woo a lesser man into submission, which has little effect on third parties. A smart woman can work her way up herself, again not bothering others. But a beautiful girl with wits... well, there's nothing more enticing for a smart man than a woman of equal or greater measure. It's in our biology and we cannot fight it. We want the best. A smart woman knows how to use our biology to circumvent our minds. There's nothing more dangerous for a man than a woman, smart and beautiful."

He didn't move his eyes off Lisa's for the entirety of his response. It made her feel awkward about being stared at, and Bob awkward for being in a conversation where the other two conversers were just staring at each other. An awkward silence followed. Finally Lisa broke the silence with a smug voice.

"Do you consider yourself a smart man?"

Frank smiled. "I can't say that. Others can, if they like."

Cocky, she thought. Especially for someone who didn't do much that they could notice. He'd put them all up for the night and covered all of their necessities. But nobody really knew why he did it, or what he was up to. All they knew was that George trusted him, and so would they. Why did George trust him, when he so obviously disliked him? Why did Frank risk exposure by helping them hide?

What bothered Lisa most of all was that for her, Frank did not seem like the type to do anything without personal gain, even if it was for a friend. And it did not seem like he had owed anything to George. So Frank had to have his own agenda that he would not reveal, something to gain from being helpful. They were but pieces on a chess board, being manipulated by Frank to some kind of purpose. She hated being used.

"I'll keep that in mind. Be cautious of smart men, I think I can remember that."

She gave a quick smile, and left the two men by themselves. She wanted rest, for tomorrow was probably going to be a long day.

"See what I mean by women who are equal measures smart and beautiful?"

The question was aimed at Bob, but Frank's eyes were still fixated at the door through which he had watched her exit. Bob knew well enough not to answer.

"There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who knows she has you by the short and curlies."

Any house ought to stand a gust of wind

Professional guidance. The polite way of saying 'manipulation'.

It has come to my attention that a TV show about manipulation has become somewhat popular, so I decided to seek it out. See if it caught my fancy in a way such as the Blacklist has - every episode shows slight nudging, behind-the-scenes manipulation, all to make one man's plans come to life. Just a man's plans to ensure his survival, for it is a man who has many enemies.

The fresh show that appears to be more popular? House of Cards, you may have heard of it. After all, I'd be surprised if you hadn't. It is about a politician trying to be a good and proper politician - by that I mean the scummiest scum of a person anyone has ever heard of. So he makes sure bad things happen to his enemies and good things happen to him. In this pursuit, he takes risks that can give him little gain, but could cause his complete and utter failure. And so his victories are small. He has probably read Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' for he knows himself and his opponents, and thus triumphs at pretty much every turn. What bothers me is that every step he makes is small, and it has huge consequences. In just two seasons, he's become the president, and has appalling approval ratings, a wife that tolerates him solely due to his power, a lover that was disappeared, one friend (played by the ever-wonderful Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (The 4400)) and has magically succeeded in getting BOTH parties to work together against him. I mean seriously, American parties NEVER work together. It is an astonishing achievement to have people who disagree for a living to agree that what you are doing is completely and utterly counterproductive. It is as if someone in their infinite wisdom decided to reclassify an university's Department of Law as a subdepartment under Social Sciences. When you get that much opposition, especially from politicians and/or lawyers you know you're doing something wrong.

The show is also slow-paced. By this I mean each episode gets dragged out with lots of filler. As such, it becomes even more shocking that the protagonist has become a president in just two seasons, whereas Blacklist's protagonist has only just revealed his aim after two and a half seasons of constant action towards his goals. But House of Cards isn't all bad. It has slight non-complex manipulation, many believable characters, a long story arc.... and it reminds me of YPM.


To those who don't know, Yes, (Prime) Minister was (the new version isn't as good) a British satire show about politics. In it, a journalist becomes a minister following general elections, and meets his staff. The staff - civil servants - are the people who are actually in charge, regardless of which party is in office. As such, they seek out ministers who look good and are willing to follow their... professional guidance. As it happens, the protagonist Jim Hacker is quickly promoted to the position of Prime Minister by no fault of his own. On the way he becomes aware of the ploys of the civil servants, often spearheaded by his own Permanent Secretary, and tries to wiggle his way out, wanting to be independent. He even attempts to use these ploys to advance his own agendas. All this in a satire that even The Iron Lady enjoyed. But it is an excellent study of manipulation, game theory, politics etc.

This said, House of Cards moves at the pace of a small-budget drama, but has the influences of old successful classics. It isn't awesome in itself, but it is a surprisingly good introduction to more serious pieces of work, be they satire or not.

Excerpt. Original work.

John sat down in a large armchair slightly turned towards the fireplace. Opposite him was Frank, encouched in his own armchair. Frank observed his face and found it bland, full of disappointment.

"Is there something on your mind?"

No reaction. John kept staring at the fire, bright reflection of the fire danced in his still eyes.

"John?" Frank insisted. This sparked a reaction in John. His eyes widened, and he inhaled slowly.

"When all of it began, when I was thrown in the middle of it, I knew the fight would be all uphill. I knew I needed friends to survive. I just never imagined...."

"...that they would be so ordinary?"

John looked at Frank. The firm gaze was all the confirmation Frank needed.

"You thought you would go a journey. Travel the world, meet exciting people, have fun."

"Not fun." Frank interrupted.

"An expression. You thought it would be a tale worth telling. You wanted it to be like an adventure story. You wanted your friends to be cogs in a machine of your devising. For them to be weak alone, but unstoppable with you. You think you are a hero just because you are a victim."

"**** you."

Frank smirked. He didn't want to, he wanted to keep a straight face to seem more erudite. He wanted John to take him seriously, he just couldn't stop himself from enjoying John's reaction. He himself usually showed little emotion, so much greater was the joy to create some in others.

"Reality is tough. There are no knights in shining armour, no damsels in distress, no bard spies to help you and no dragons to be slayed. When you meet a person, you meet just a person."

John redirected his gaze back towards the fire. He seemed even sadder than when he first sat down.

"What use are they? They can hardly do anything I can't. None of them matter, all they do is go places I cannot go. Ofcourse I wanted more."

John was becoming more and more agitated. Frank knew that if he was going to make his point, he'd have to do it quickly.

"You like the fire? People are like that fire. They all look the same, but the more you find, the more you realize you've never seen identical fires. The differences are small, subtle, but they are there. You just need to look closer. You'll find that some fires burn noticeably brighter."

John looked at Frank again. "You know, I'll never like your little speeches. Too much allegory."
He started to stand from his seat.

"But you'll always listen to what I say."
Frank gave a little smile and nod at John. He on the other hand walked away in silence.


"You know your allegory breaks down at candles?" asked Lisa, standing in the doorway.

"I know. He does not have to."

"Am I one of those bright flames?"

"The brightest I've met. I felt your warmth the moment you walked into earshot."

Lisa smiled, but nobody could see it in the dark doorway. She knew he had given an answer, but not the answer either of them had wanted.

"What makes a person a brighter flame than others?" asked Lisa as she walked closer to the fireplace.

"You remember how we met? It wasn't a good start. What surprised me was how badly I wanted it to be."

"Maybe there is hope for you yet." She smiled again, and left the room, leaving Frank to stew with his thoughts, and the fire.