Underground Knowledge — A discussion group discussion

Whenever I read a non-fiction book, report or dissertation I often spend more time than it takes to read it researching the author's background and researching her/his chosen topic to put what’s written into its true perspective.

That may sound odd but it’s not odd in the "intelligence" arena I have inhabited for too long now. Indeed, it is particularly important in this era of deceit and disinformation as it helps to get one's facts right.

Out of several prima facie unlikely places one might look to do a bit of quick background research on people I have found Everipedia invaluable because it covers a lot in those grey areas where more staid encyclopaedic websites like Wikipedia don't venture given their old-fashioned rules about citations and notable persons. Interestingly, nowadays the FBI probably get more convictions courtesy of intel gleaned from social media and other data which Wikipedia still doesn't consider adequate to support citations. I'm not knocking Wikipedia, but it has its limitations even though I typically refer to it for quick guidance several times a day!

By way of example, if you are interested start with this short article on Steemit - https://steemit.com/introducemyself/@... - it explains how an intelligence agency tried to track down information about me over a ten-week period. Then look at one of my biographies released a couple of years later - https://everipedia.org/wiki/bill-fair... after their inept investigation. If only they had waited!

If that whets anyone’s appetite they can always read Beyond Enkription but do note it was written more along the lines of a scholarly film script with more layers than a Russian onion than a John Le Carré masterpiece … although some found that very refreshing!

Bill wrote: "Whenever I read a non-fiction book, report or dissertation I often spend more time than it takes to read it researching the author's background and researching her/his chosen topic to put what’s wr..."

Thanks Bill, will check this out.

James - I hope you find my suggested new approach to reading thrillers fascinating. Many who've approached reading thrillers about espionage (that actually happened) in this way say they feel so much more "part of it". I have even had one reader ask how to double back in case she was being followed!

I hope it doesn't induce paranoia but do let me know what you think when you have had time to experience becoming part of it. Hopefully you'll find it a surreal and riveting experience. It doesn't matter whether it is with The Burlington Files or any other espionage books as long as the books are fact based thrillers. Best wishes - Bill

Iain - Thanks very much for that. I'd like to answer your questions with care so here goes starting with a bit of background! First, never forget that the likes of Ian Fleming and John le Carré became brilliant writers no doubt thanks to a few spare moments arising from being desk bound civil servants (eg MoD, MI5/6, Foreign Office or whatever)! They rarely went operational, if at all, under cover. What does that mean in practice? It means that courtesy of their writing skills their novels are convincingly and compellingly realistic whether or not based on real characters or events.

However, the likes of myself didn't spend decades writing and learning how to write so we are at an immediate disadvantage when decanting our thoughts and unlike them our own memories. The other disadvantage we, amateurs like me, have is when we try to stick to what we recall happened. As is so true, fact can be more absurd than fiction and from my experience, often unbelievable at times. For example, I should have died long before 1975 when I was twice read the last rites and many more perilous moments were stacked up for me in later years including 1985 in particular which made 1974 (the year Beyond Enkription is set in) look becalmed at times.

For another example, take Beyond Enkription and some of the more allegedly absurd chapters such as the one in Bermuda immediately after my unbelievable escape from the Tonton Macoute. Of those few who knew of my double life some of those young enough not to have had first hand knowledge of those moments thought I had made up the very bits of the book that were closest to the truth and that those furthest from reality had actually happened!

Now, to get to the point, to round off my oblique answers I'll leave you with some conundrums. In order to survive I tried to tell the truth more than lies so that way the odds on being "caught out" diminished. So, if infiltrating a criminal organisation, they might not have known my precise name but I'd frequently say I worked in intelligence and needed their help (which was often the case!) to get dirt on say some diplomat. It worked and if mistakes were made so what as they were by then usually inconsequential? The villains loved the intrigue and were proud to be secretly associated with me ... and vice versa to a degree depending on who it was as some bad guys can be real characters (just as some are nauseous). They knew (because they had been let or led into a secret) they weren't the target ... or so they thought.

Now, talking of disinformation, one person we approached to join Faire Sans Dire was ex-Sweeney. He said "no" politely. Working overseas had more hazards than working at home and as he had no experience of that he wisely declined our offer. Nevertheless, with his experience he helped me a lot privately even though we shared one approach to life.

We had in common a motto, ABC, "Assume nothing, Believe nobody, Check everything" (the Sweeney's and Faire Sans Dire's motto) and when checking everything look for omissions. That is the stance I have taken not only in real life but also when reading virtually anything from a news article to War & Peace! When reading Beyond Enkription I would recommend a similar stance be adopted albeit the chapters focused on my life are based give or take ad verbatim on what happened to me.

I know some of my more erudite associates have read Beyond Enkription three times, each time yielding different understandings of just what happened and each resulting in their questioning themselves for missing the plot or even what might have been so obviously missing from the book as they were looking for what was hidden. So my advice is beware of disinformation; in fact, as it is so topical I'm surprised there aren't university degrees in it but then they would be no substitute for experience of the real thing. I do hope that helps answer your conundrums - best wishes - Bill

Iain - Most of those I know didn't have as many cushy numbers as me so let's not over-glorify my past! True, it was very dangerous at times but in my youth I must have been one of the most care-free, irresponsible and unmanageable in my "field" (as you put it).

If you have questions please fire them at me. Faire Sans Dire's website is as you imply a small treasure trove of information (and disinformation!) if you know where to look. Best wishes - Bill

I am somehow still alive!

Also, if you look at the events and assignments (disclosed) it only works out at a few really exhilarating adrenalin junkie satisfying occurrences every year (ignoring 1974 and 1985 in particular) so for months at a time often I just lived life as a normal accountant etc.

In Beyond Enkription (which I didn't write all of) one quote is apt:

It was like that with Edward, things came to mind that he should’ve thought about earlier, should’ve concerned him earlier. That was him in a cameo, always had been, jump first and worry if he wasn’t wearing a parachute later.

Bill wrote: "If you have questions please fire them at me. Faire Sans Dire's website is as you imply a small treasure trove of information (and disinformation!) if you know where to look. ..."

Careful Bill -- disinformation only works if you don't tell people it's disinfo...

True ... but to remind people that even though the facts as presented are true they could still be imbued with disinformation should keep people peering over walls of knowledge on the tips of their toes! It's up to them which walls they choose and which way they look.

No matter what, I was only trying to be informative!

Iain wrote: "I agree, Bill. Sometimes the only option is to speak in half-truth, as it could be too bloody dangerous to 'show all your cards'! ..."

How about if it's all more like a "house of cards", Iain? What then?

Iain wrote: "Infusing disinfo amid the truth is the way to go. If you've been in the nitty-gritty amongst major players then why wouldn't you intersperse fiction with truth? ..."

That reminds me of a saying in Hollywood: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story"...

The Club was called Change Is and I can't for the life of me imagine any Chechen or Afghan warlords visiting it as implied particularly as I recall it went bust before 1973 at the latest. What is interesting is its links to the "one armed bandit" murderer who was also separately linked to my past in relation to other matters: see "After-school Days - Perilous Moments - 1967/1973" and http://www.readysteadygone.co.uk/60s-....

As for disinformation (which can be by omission), fact, fiction, cards et al, even writing as bland as Anne Frank's diary is a jumble of truths, half truths and ideas she had at the time. Anyway, if you are really looking for a house of cards to base a film on, many have done it on biblical tales. Everyone's facts are often only others' fictions and vice versa - a well known epithet I just conjured up ... unless it already exists.

Mind you, you're unlikely to be imprisoned, sued, knifed or shot if writing about history going back centuries because you can't write a self-incriminating piece. Just ask Salman Rushdie or (if he hadn't been murdered) his translator Hitoshi Igarashi.

I agree with the statement that fact is stranger than fiction. It can be both the "golden goose" and/or ruin of many a bio.

By the way, just to underscore that point, I once lived with someone I'll call "Miss Guadeloupe". She was the manageress of Ronnie Knight's clubs including the A&R Club 142 Charing Cross Road and a close friend of Barbara Windsor.

The four of us would go to Ginger's (then London's equivalent of Studio 54) in Bond Street. For the life of me I can't imagine Barbara was ever involved with Oleg ... but then I wouldn't know that, even if it were true, would I? It goes without saying that I can't remember anything else to do with Ronnie Knight.

Iain wrote: "That's my point, it hard to make out who is lying or not. ..."

Always is, mate.

It's just one of many omissions! In the meantime this exchange reinforces the point about just how interesting research can be and how it can make or break a novel or biography et al.

Now it's time you checked out what you missed - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2... - but I will NOT be commenting on that thread further.

James wrote: "Iain wrote: "That's my point, it hard to make out who is lying or not. ..."

Always is, mate."

I disagree. A good example of why I disagree is to be found in the Senate Kavanaugh Hearing or recent press about Trump's tax evasion et al but I won't turn this into a political bun fight. However, you can rest assured the FBI know who is in the wrong.

Bill wrote: "I am somehow still alive! ...."

Shaken, but not stirred?

I don't drink booze any more!

I would imagine any alcoholic drink that enables them to look as though they are drinking a lot while remaining sober! Certainly not Bond's beverage et al ...

Wrapping up a newspaper very tightly ... until it can be used as a cosh.

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Bill wrote: "Also, if you look at the events and assignments (disclosed) it only works out at a few really exhilarating adrenalin junkie satisfying occurrences every year (ignoring 1..."

What about non-disclosed?

If you do some extensive painstaking research you might get a rough idea of a few of the topics that have not been disclosed. However, if you did and asked me if just a generic topic was relevant, I could not comment.

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My hunch (if my understanding of what you mean is influence on writing) is nil!

Beyond Enkription obviously! Seriously though, I think the screen script of The Americans is also one of the most realistic spy film scripts or "novelogs" as we call them. No one saves the world every chapter (as in Fleming) yet there is enough action (unlike much of Le Carré) to prevent nodding off and it's "written for film" so your imagination does much of the interpretation. The great thing about both The Burlington Files and The Americans series is that they are about an interesting family. As for The Americans TV series what I like is the finality of it. Once either Philip or Elizabeth decides someone has to die or is told to kill someone ... that's it.

By the way, in case you missed it, this link was posted recently:
https://everipedia.org/wiki/lang_en/m...

The page was created after a new assignment was added to:
https://everipedia.org/wiki/lang_en/b...

You can find a brief explanation of the new assignment by searching the page for Nisha.

Bill wrote: "I don't drink booze any more!"

Oh ok.

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Bill wrote: "👍"

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What you think about the epstein saga, Bill?

Early days yet - maybe Trump will trip on this sandal?

Bill wrote: "Early days yet - maybe Trump will trip on this sandal?"

You suspect Trump is more involved than has been reported?

The likes of Trump are often more involved in seedy stuff than meets the eye! Just look at the Trump Foundation despite all the mafia like protestations of innocence. Time will tell - I have no more comments on this so over and out on this one.

What are your sources telling you about 2020 to date, Bill?

Anything else in play besides the virus?