Iceland Spar, Chapter Ten: The Gentleman Bomber of Headingly!

We're still with Lew in England. He's trying to get him some of that good ol' Cyclomite, but not having much luck, even when he enlists the assistance of Nigel and Neville, who are huge drug enthusiasts. They go to a laboratory run by this here Dr. Coombs De Bottle, who performs sort of autopsies of bombs to see how they were detonated and how they were built, and it's here that they learn of this sinister Gentleman Bomber of Headingly, who attacks crowds at cricket matches with phosgene bombs--phosgene being a deadly chemical that was used as a weapon during World War I, an important event in this novel. Also, real life. This guy makes you think of the Kieselguhr Kid, a similarly mysterious terrorist and/or anarchist. Is it more doubling? Anyway, Nigel and Neville end up rustling up some Cyclomite for Lew's birthday, so that's heartwarming.

Lew's going to meet Professor Renfrew at Cambridge, along with Nookshaft and Crouchmas. Renfrew--who seems like a regular guy, not just a metaphorical figure--wants Lew to bring in the Gentleman Bomber, but GOOD LUCK with that.

That's about it--though there are a lot more geopolitics in this chapter; Great Game stuff. Renfrew avers that Inner Asia is the planet's heart, and therefore "control Inner Asia, and you control the planet" (242), which I believe is going to become relevant real soon.

Bloody hell, this turned out to be a short entry. Hope I'm not losing my touch already. Well, we'll see.

[Spoiler: I'm not.  These things are just gonna vary in length.  This one is short, but some of the ones upcoming are absolute beasts.  Look forward to it, or not.]

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