The 48 Laws Of Power

stenciledabank’sinventednameon

them,

filledthemwithsteel

washers,

and

arrayed

them

impressively

behindtheteller

windows,

along

withbun-

dlesofboodlevwrealbills
hidingnewspaper

cuttosize.Forhisbanl<’sstaff

and customers Weilhired

gamblers,

bookies,

girls

from local

bawdy

houses,
andotherassortedconfederates.Heevenhadalocal

thugpose

asa

bankdick.

Claiming

tobethebrokerforacertificateinvestmentthebankwasof-

fering,

Weilwould

fishthewaters

and

hook

the

properwealthy

sucker.He

would
bring

thisman

tothebank

and

ask

toseethe

president.

An

“officer”

ofthebankwouldtellthemthat

they

hadto

wait,

which

onlyheightened

therealismofthecon-——one

always

hastowaittoseethebank

president.

Andas

they

waitedthebankwouldbustlewithbanklike

activity,

ascall

girls

and

bookies

in

disguise

floatedin

and

out,

makingdeposits

and

with»

drawalsand
tipping

theirhatstothe

phony

bankdick.Lulled

by

this

per~

feet
copy

of

reality,

the

suckerwould

deposit

$50,000

intothe

fake

bank

withouta
worry

intheworld.

Overthe

years

Weildidthesame

thing

withatdeserted

yacht

club,

an

abandoned

brokerage

office,

arelocatedrealestate

office,

andacom»

pletely

realistic

gambling

club.

Interpretation

The
mirroring

of

reality

offersimmense

deceptivepowers.

The

right

uni»

form,

the

perfect

accent,

the

properprops——thedeception

cannotbedeci~

phered

becauseitis

enmeshed

inasimulationof

reality.People

havean

intensedesireandneedto
believe,
andtheir
first
instinctistotrust
a.
well»

constructed

facade,

tomistakeitfor

reality.

After

all,

wecannot

go

around

doubting

the

reality

of

everything

weseewthatwouldbetoo

exhausting.

We

habituallyacceptappearances,

andthisisa

credulityyou

canuse.

Inthis

particulargame

itisthefirstmomentthatcountsthe

most.

If

your

suckers’

suspicions

arenotraised

by

their

first

glance

atthe

mirror’s

reflection,

they

will

staysuppressed.

Once

they

enter

your

hallof

mirrors,

they

willbeunableto

distinguish

therealfromthe

fake,

anditwillbecome

easierandeasiertodeceivethem.Remember:

Study

theworld’ssurfaces

and
learnto
mirrorthemin
your
habits,
your
manner,
your

clothes.Likea

carnivorous

plant,

to

unsuspecting

insects

you

will

looklike

allthe

other

plants

inthefield.

Authority:

Thetaskof:1

militaryoperation

istoaccord

de<:ep~

tively

withtheintentionsofthe

enemy

.

..

get

towhat

they

want

first,

subtlyanticipate

them.Maintain

discipline

and

adapt

to

the

enemy.

...

Thus,

atfirst

you

arelikea

maiden,

sothe

enemy

opens

his

door;

then

you

arelike arabbitonthe

loose,

so

the

enemy

cannot

keepyou

out.

(Stm—tzu,

fourth

century

B.C.)

LAW 44

,

.‘)’89