Mar
The Non-Identity of Mannar
When we speak of the Mannar Rune and identity, the usual intent is recognition of an individual. The crux of identity is the balance between individual personality and the many roles he fulfills. As I like to put it, the Who and the What of a person. For example, take a fellow named Eric. We can say that Eric’s personality is the Who. If he were a policeman, than the police identity would be the What. In dealing with this individual, it would be a matter of Erik as a personality as opposed to Erik the Policeman. In any given situation, do we meet him in his capacity as an individual or as a policeman?
Such is identity.
What of a person who does not want to be identified? That person might be an operative, a spy, a criminal or an undercover policeman. Those roles demand anonymity.
Compare the popular “James Bond” style spy with the real thing. The movie spy is so well-known that hotel concierges remember how he likes his accommodations. He asks for a distinct type of drink, and he has a unique way of introducing himself. All of these are aspects of the man’s identity. In real life, such a man would be a poor spy. Secret agents are supposed to be secret! A real spy would be so innocuous that people would forget him a minute after meeting him. His way of selecting hotels and his behavior in them would leave no lasting impression with staffers. Likewise, if his work requires having drinks, he would order something that was so common as to be nondescript. “Scotch of on the rocks” raises less attention than “Shaken, not stirred.”
The greatest part of a spy’s disguise is being so inconspicuous that he is instantly forgettable. He fits into the social landscape the way a camouflaged tank disappears in natural terrain. An undercover policeman is a type of spy. Were Eric working undercover, he would try to minimize both his personality and his role as policeman. If Eric were doing a proper job, we would not even know his name. We might not even remember that he was in the room.
What can we say of our spy? At the risk of sounding like a Zen koan, we might say: There is an application of identity that is no identity. The lack of identity is what identifies our man as a successful undercover operative. It is not what we notice, but what we do not notice that reveals his identity. The Mannar Rune has many such paradoxes because it deals with so intimate a part of our human nature.
**********
The espionage and undercover agents of movies and television are very different from the real thing. The entertainment spies are characters in fiction, and so must have a conspicuous personality. Real spies operate in nearly perfect anonymity. As such, they would not make good characters for entertainment. The next time you watch a spy movie or undercover police drama, make it an exercise. Try to notice the instances where the character is at odds with the real undercover operative. You can have a lot of fun and learn a few things as you take on the role of “spy catcher.”
Espionage is one of the topics we covered in our book Loki for You. It is available at http://www.thortrains.com/UncleThors/lokibok1.htm
