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<blockquote data-quote="Turtlejay" data-source="post: 5148104" data-attributes="member: 70267">I am reminded of a Tom Clancy (I think) book, where he describes a secret russian town where spies learned to be American.&nbsp; Captured American servicemen served as instructors, and the spies basically lived a bizarro American life trying to perfect their ultimate bluff.&nbsp;Only there were a couple of things wrong.&nbsp; The instructors were obviously not 100% on board, and would occasionally let slip small things that could give the spy away.&nbsp; The one I remember is the Dead Man's hand (Aces and 8's) but in this spy town, they learned it as a different combo for a full house.&nbsp; One of these doesn't blow a cover, but a string of them can.&nbsp;The other is the way the Russian characters smoked.&nbsp; According to the author, Russians develop this habit of holding the end of their cigarrette up while smoking, as Russian cigarrettes are poorly made or somesuch.&nbsp; This is a tell that American spies can look for.&nbsp;So Bluff/Insight is less supernatural, and more highly trained, almost instinctual observation or assumption of a role.&nbsp; The disguised doppelganger might mispronounce a common word, or not know a classic peasant dish or folk song.&nbsp; Really, there is no way to be foolproof, you will slip up eventually.&nbsp; And then your ability to think on your feet becomes your only defense. . .&nbsp;Jay</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Turtlejay, post: 5148104, member: 70267"] I am reminded of a Tom Clancy (I think) book, where he describes a secret russian town where spies learned to be American. Captured American servicemen served as instructors, and the spies basically lived a bizarro American life trying to perfect their ultimate bluff. Only there were a couple of things wrong. The instructors were obviously not 100% on board, and would occasionally let slip small things that could give the spy away. The one I remember is the Dead Man's hand (Aces and 8's) but in this spy town, they learned it as a different combo for a full house. One of these doesn't blow a cover, but a string of them can. The other is the way the Russian characters smoked. According to the author, Russians develop this habit of holding the end of their cigarrette up while smoking, as Russian cigarrettes are poorly made or somesuch. This is a tell that American spies can look for. So Bluff/Insight is less supernatural, and more highly trained, almost instinctual observation or assumption of a role. The disguised doppelganger might mispronounce a common word, or not know a classic peasant dish or folk song. Really, there is no way to be foolproof, you will slip up eventually. And then your ability to think on your feet becomes your only defense. . . Jay [/QUOTE]

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