)

Re: the "KKK" connection.  

As I recall, Napier forms a rebel group known as the "Soldiers of Liberty," but to maintain their cover, they only speak the initials of the organization.  I don't recall if we're told the Amtorian word for "soldier," but we do know that in their universal language, plurals are formed by adding a prefix, either "kloo-" or "kl-" depending upon whether the root word begins with a consonant or a vowel.  We do learn that the Amtorian for "of" is "kum."  Therefore, "liberty" must either be a plural concept, or must begin with a "k" anyawy.  So, the group is named the "Kl-something kum K-something," initials K-K-K!  We're told that's spoken kung-kung-kung on Venus rather than kay-kay-kay, by the kay ... er, way.

Wait a minute, on this basis, wouldn't just about every Amtorian organization have at least two K's in their initials? Wouldn't the K-K-K get confused with the K-K-P and the K-K-S-K and all the others.?  Hell of a way to carry on covert operations.  Sounds like that Monty Python bit about the Judean People's Front versus the People's Front of Judea and the other splitters.  ("What!  You're from the kung-kung-kung!  How dare you?"  "No, I said kung-kung-bung!")

Ergo, it would be pretty stupid to use actual initials given a language that uses kl- before every plural noun.  

Such a language ought to sound pretty awful, and to initiate choking in the speaker whenever a long passage is spoken, but never mind.  If a language expert like Tolkein had pulled something like this, you might infer a sinister motivation, but Burroughs never let logic get in the way of entertainment, and this served him and his readers quite well.

Napier smiles in amusement when his organization is rendered as K-K-K. Given my explanation, he should have laughed out loud.  That's hardly a political endorsement. Pursuing that track is S.O.L., and that ain't Soldiers of Liberty.   05:46, 3 August 2010 (UTC