re: Ruse de guerre
You've been to the future SDAI, you should have warned us what was coming. Shame on you.
Oh, I've warned everyone here about the future in far more ways than one.
The secret is this ER...if you value the books in the future you will find yourself still surrounded by them, no matter how phenomenally rare they may someday become.
I've always looked at this scene and wondered how few books Cogley has. Then I remembered this was just what he had brought with him to the starbase and I immediately feel much better.
Once one actually dreams about finding a bookstore with a secret chamber where all the really good books are kept, then one knows one is a book fan.
Nothing beats paging through Leonardo's original lost notebooks and the plethora of centuries old 3 feet by 2 feet books from inventors, writers and artists past that are filled with their own hand painted illustrations and script. And all in mint condition - untouched by time or decay.
;-)