Red

Siamese Fighting Fish, 

fascinating creatures. 

Brave, but on the whole, stupid. 

Yes, they're stupid. 

Except for the occasional ones such as we have here, 

who lets the other two fight 

while he waits. 

Waits until The Survivor 

is so exhausted 

that he cannot defend himself. 

And then, 

like SPECTRE, 

he strikes. 

I find the parallel amusing. 

Our organisation did not arrange for you to come over from the Russians just for amusement. 

Number Three. 

“A curious experience comes to Parsifal just at this moment. He is wandering about on his knight’s journey when a falcon attacks three geese in the air. Three drops of blood from one of them falls onto the snow near Parsifal and he drifts into a lover’s trance at the sight. He is transfixed by the three drops of blood and can think of nothing but Blanche Fleur. 

King Arthur’s men find him in this immobile state and two of them try to lead him to Arthur’s court. He fights them off, breaking the arm of one; he is the knight who had jeered when the maiden laughed in Arthur’s court. Parsifal had vowed to avenge her for this scorn. This vow is now completed.

Gawain, a third knight, asks Parsifal gently and humbly if he will come to Arthur’s court and Parsifal agrees.

In another version of the story, the sun melts the snow and obliterates two of the drops of blood relieving Parsifal of the spell so that he can function again. It is possible that Parsifal would still be there in his lover’s trance if the sun had not reduced the three drops of blood to one or if Gawain had not rescued him.

Curious symbolism is at work in this part of the story.”

Barbelith is the name of the “placenta” for humanity; a satellite-like object located on the dark side of the moon. It recurs throughout the story as a supernatural moon seeming both intelligent and benign. 

Barbelith’s role is like that of a placenta in that it connects the hologram of our subjective reality to the realm outside of our space-time, the domain of the magic mirror, and helps humans to realize their true nature beyond the subjective concept of “self”.

Prior to contact with Barbelith, most characters undergo some sort of trauma or intensity- an alien abduction or shamanic initiation, for example. A sort of cosmic “stoplight” is also present in some instances, though also seems to precede any sort of contact with the “healthy” dimension of The Invisibles binary-based paradigm; the realm of the Invisible College.

The word first appeared on a sign post in House of Heart’s Desire, a short story published in 1989 within the pages of A1, with art by Dom Regan. 

It has also cropped up in other comics Morrison has written. Doom Patrol #54 in particular goes into more detail.

Grant Morrison describes its origins as follows: “The word ‘BARBELiTH’ is derived from a dream I had when I was about 20 or 21 and coincided with my first structured ‘magical’ experiences and a minor nervous breakdown (in the dream, BARBELiTH was the name of some higher dimension or alternate reality).”

Barbelith is inspired by the Philip K. Dick novel VALIS in which the titular satellite, VALIS, appears as a sort of Gnostic information-satellite for humanity.

Perhaps of note, in Sethian gnosticism, the name of the first and highest emanation of the true God (as opposed to their description of the God of the Old Testament as Ialdabaoth or the demiurge) is called Barbelo.

Come in, Kronsteen. 

Sit down, Number Three, while we listen to what Number Five has devised for us. 

I hope Kronsteen's efforts as Director of Planning will continue to be as successful as his chess. 

They will be. 

According to your instructions, I've planned for SPECTRE to steal from the Russians their new Lektor decoding machine. 

For this we need the services of a female member of the Russian Cryptograph section in Turkey 

and the help of the British Secret Service. 

Naturally, neither the Russians nor the British will be aware that they are now working for us. 

Number Three, is your section ready to carry out Kronsteen's directives? 

Yes, Number One. 

The operation will be organised according to Kronsteen's plan. 

I've selected a suitable girl from the Russian Consulate in Istanbul. 

She's capable, cooperative, and her loyalty to The State is beyond question. 

And you're absolutely sure she believes you're still Head of Operations for Soviet Intelligence? 

It is unlikely she would know I'm now working for SPECTRE. 

Moscow has kept my defection secret from everyone but a few members of the Praesidium. 

For your sake, I hope so. 

Kronsteen, you are sure this plan is foolproof? 

Number 5 :

Yes, it is, because I have anticipated every possible variation of countermove. 

Number 1 :

What makes you think that M, The Head of British Intelligence, will oblige you by falling in with your plan? 

Number 5 :

For the simple reason that this is so obviously A Trap. 

My reading of The British Mentality is that they always treat a trap as a challenge. 

In any case, they couldn't possibly pass up even the slightest chance of getting their hands on the Lektor decoder. They've wanted one for years. 

Number 1 :

All that could be True. 

What else? 

Number 5 :

As an added refinement, I think that SPECTRE would probably have the chance of personal revenge for the killing of our operative Dr No, 

because the man the British will almost certainly use on a mission of this sort would be their agent James Bond. 

Number 1 :

Let his death be a particularly unpleasant and humiliating one. Good. 

Number 5 :

I shall put my plan into operation straight away. 

And there will be no failure. Hurry. 

Welcome to SPECTRE Island. Great honour. I hope you had a pleasant flight. My time is limited. Is the man I requested ready? His dossier. Good. "Donald Grant, convicted murderer, "escaped Dartmoor Prison in 1960, "recruited in Tangier, 1962." Excellent. Where is he now? At the lake. Bring him to my office, will you? Take me to the lake. Through the training area. This Grant's one of the best men we've ever had. Homicidal paranoiac. Superb material. Though his methods were a little crude, his response to our training and indoctrination have been remarkable. I hope our work here meets with your approval. Training is useful, but there is no substitute for experience. I agree. We use live targets as well. Call him. Grant. He seems fit enough. Have him report to me in Istanbul in 24 hours. 

Corporal of State Security Tatiana Romanova. 

Come in. 

You know who I am? 

Colonel Klebb, Head of Operations for SMERSH. 

I saw you once in Moscow when I worked for the English Decoding Room. 

Did you tell anyone at the Consulate you were coming? 

No. The message said... 

Yes, yes, I know. I sent it. 

Your work record is excellent. 

The State is proud of you. 

Thank you, Comrade Colonel. Take off your jacket. 

Turn around. 

You're a fine-looking girl. 

Sit down. 

I see you trained for the ballet. 

But I grew an inch over the regulation height and so... 

Then you have had three lovers. 

What is the purpose of such an intimate question? 

You're not here to ask questions. 

You forget to whom you're speaking? 

I was in love. 

And if you were not in love? 

I suppose that would depend on the man. 

Sensible answer. 

This man, for instance? 

I cannot tell. Perhaps if he was kind and good toward me. 

Corporal, I have selected you for a most important assignment. 

Its purpose is to give false information to The Enemy. 

If you complete it successfully, you will be promoted. 

From now on you will do anything he says. 

And if I refuse? 

Then you will not leave this room alive. 

I will obey your orders. 

Good. Now these are your instructions. 

You report to me here. 

Yes. 

But the Consulate security man must not know that I'm in Istanbul. 

This is classified far above his level. 

I will say nothing to anyone. 

If you do you will be shot. 

Come. Come, my dear. 

You're very fortunate to have been chosen for such a simple, delightful duty. 

A real labour of love, as we say. 

Great sport, this. 

What did you say? 

I said, great sport, this punting. 

I couldn't agree with him more. 

I may even give up golf for it. 

Really? 

Not quite. 

Souvenir from another jealous woman? 

Yes, but I haven't turned my back on one since. 

•The Carphone in his 1932 Bentley is ringing•

Excuse me. 

What? 

Give me my shirt, will you? 

What's going on? 

I have to make a phone call. 

But we haven't eaten yet. 

I'm starving. 

Come in, UNIVEX. 

James Bond here. Over. 

He's been asking for you all morning. 

Where in the world are you, James? 

I've just been reviewing an old case.

So I'm an old case now, am I? 

Shh. It's The Office. 

Tell him I'm on my way, will you. 

He is not on his way. 

Sylvia, behave. 

We'll do this again some other time soon.

Do what? 

Last time you said that, you went off to Jamaica. 

I haven't seen you for six months. 

I'll be there in an hour. 

I'll tell him. 

Your old case sounds interesting, James. 

Make that an hour and a half. 

Now, about that lunch. 

For my next miracle, I... 

It'll be a miracle if he can explain where he's been all day. 

But I've never even heard of a Tatiana Romanova. 

Ridiculous, isn't it? 

It's absolutely crazy. 

Of course, girls do fall in love with pictures of film stars. 

But not a Russian cipher clerk with a file photo of a British agent. Unless she's mental. 

No, it's some sort of trap. 

Well, obviously it's a trap and the bait is a cipher machine, a brand new Lektor. 

A Lektor, no less. 

The CIA's been after one of those for years. 

Yes, so have we. 

When she contacted Kerim Bey, Head of Station T, Turkey, and told him she wanted to defect, she said she'd turn it over to us on one condition :— 

That you went out to Istanbul 

and brought her and the machine back to England. 

Here's a snapshot Kerim managed to get of her. 

I don't know too much about cryptography, but a Lektor could decode their top-secret signals. 

The whole thing's so fantastic, it just could be True. 

That had occurred to me. 

Besides, the Russians haven't been up to any tricks recently. 

Really, I'm not too busy at the moment, sir. 

You're booked on the 8:30 plane in the morning. 

If there's any chance of us getting a Lektor, we simply must look into it. 

Suppose when she meets me in the flesh, I don't come up to her expectations? 

M :

Just see that you do.