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There are many real and fictitious occurrences of concealing objects in a book. Items can be concealed in books in a number of ways. Small items such as a photograph or a note can be hidden in between the pages of the book. Thicker items can be hidden by removing the interior portion of some or all of the pages, creating a book safe or hollowed-out book. Book safes are easy for their owners to recognise, but they do not stand out to a thief or other intruder.
Another type of concealment is the hiding of messages in the text or on a book's pages by printing in code – a form of steganography. For example, letters could be underlined on sequential pages, with the letters spelling out a message or code. There are a number of actual and fictional examples of items or messages having been concealed in a book.
Illicit chemicals may be smuggled by soaking individual pages with them.
Books are used as a concealment device in part because they are readily available and inconspicuous in many settings.
Prices can vary based on the cost of materials, additional features, and resources used to create the functionality and aesthetics of the hollow book. The main functional purpose aims for the containment of valuables, memorable items, or contraband within the cloak of an ordinary book. Thus maintaining privacy and security from unwanted intrusions and/or theft.
The scale of gadgetry used to create the seal of a hollow book's closing properties have ranged from simple to complex. Simple elastic bands, interlocking rope, and other common book closing techniques are used. Other times, hidden magnets do the task as well as the unusual use of complex locking mechanisms that require a lock and key combinations have also been used to keep a book closed.
Material choices used in the creation of the hollow book's body are usually actual books. However, other plastic, metal, cardboard, or paper materials have also been used to either simulate a real book, or to be used as extra features.
Many book safes are handmade. Structures made from real books are sealed and pressed before hollowing the inside pages with a sharp cutting utility. Sealing the back and allowing the front cover to act as a door that can be opened and shut. While other hollow books are made from cardboard cigar boxes, simulating a book on the outside.
In fictional uses of book safes, the title or subject of the book can be symbolic or related to the nature of the object, e.g., hidden money in a copy of The Wealth of Nations . There are a number of cases from films and television series where an item is hidden in the Bible.
Koshchei, also Kashchei often given the epithet "the Immortal", or "the Deathless", is an archetypal male antagonist in Russian folklore.
A canary trap is a method for exposing an information leak by giving different versions of a sensitive document to each of several suspects and seeing which version gets leaked. It could be one false statement, to see whether sensitive information gets out to other people as well. Special attention is paid to the quality of the prose of the unique language, in the hopes that the suspect will repeat it verbatim in the leak, thereby identifying the version of the document.
Dan Hibiki is a fictional character from Capcom's Street Fighter fighting game franchise. He was created to parody Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, the two lead characters of SNK's Art of Fighting series, as Capcom saw Ryo as a ripoff of Street Fighter characters Ryu and Ken. Since then, Dan has become a fan favorite due to his humorous design, signature moves and mannerisms.
Assassin is a live-action game in which players try to eliminate one another using mock weapons, in an effort to become the last surviving player.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 1974 spy novel by the author and former spy John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of the taciturn, ageing spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has received critical acclaim for its complex social commentary—and, at the time, relevance, following the defection of Kim Philby. It was followed by The Honourable Schoolboy in 1977 and Smiley's People in 1979. The three novels together make up the "Karla Trilogy", named after Smiley's long-time nemesis Karla, the head of Soviet foreign intelligence and the trilogy's overarching antagonist.
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items or information between two individuals via a secret location. By avoiding direct meetings, individuals can maintain operational security. This method stands in contrast to the live drop, which involves a face-to-face exchange.
Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is that such an inconspicuous object would not be expected to contain anything of worth.
Tradecraft, within the intelligence community, refers to the techniques, methods, and technologies used in modern espionage (spying) and generally as part of the activity of intelligence assessment. This includes general topics or techniques, or the specific techniques of a nation or organization.
Syaoran Li, sometimes spelled as Shaoran Li or originally as Xiaolang Li, is one of the central characters in the Clamp manga Cardcaptor Sakura and its sequel Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. In the English anime adaptation by Nelvana of the series, Cardcaptors, he was renamed Li Showron and in the American broadcast was rewritten to be the joint main protagonist alongside Sakura Kinomoto, despite Sakura's solo lead role in all other regional conversions. Syaoran is a young Chinese sorcerer from Hong Kong, descending from Clow Reed and appearing in Tokyo during his introduction in order to capture the missing cards released by Sakura. Although Syaoran is initially apprehensive towards the protagonist due to their shared goal, he, in time, finds himself falling in love with her as the series progresses. Syaoran's relationship with Sakura is further explored in the 2000 Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card film and the sequel.
Gun is a Western-themed action-adventure video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox 360 in 2005. The PlayStation Portable version was released a year later under the title Gun: Showdown, this version features new side-missions, a multiplayer mode, and other additions that were not available in the console versions.
Subterranean fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction, science fiction, or fantasy which focuses on fictional underground settings, sometimes at the center of the Earth or otherwise deep below the surface. The genre is based on, and has in turn influenced, the Hollow Earth theory. The earliest works in the genre were Enlightenment-era philosophical or allegorical works, in which the underground setting was often largely incidental. In the late 19th century, however, more pseudoscientific or proto-science-fictional motifs gained prevalence. Common themes have included a depiction of the underground world as more primitive than the surface, either culturally, technologically or biologically, or in some combination thereof. The former cases usually see the setting used as a venue for sword-and-sorcery fiction, while the latter often features cryptids or creatures extinct on the surface, such as dinosaurs or archaic humans. A less frequent theme has the underground world much more technologically advanced than the surface one, typically either as the refugium of a lost civilization, or as a secret base for space aliens.
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms.
Fate/hollow ataraxia is a 2005 PC visual novel video game developed by Type-Moon, and the sequel to Fate/stay night. The word "ataraxia" in the title is a Greek term for "tranquility", giving the title the combined meaning of "empty tranquility".
Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie is a 1999 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Morio Asaka and produced by Madhouse and Bandai Visual. The film is based on the anime television series adaptation of Clamp's Cardcaptor Sakura manga series. Written by Nanase Ohkawa, Clamp's head writer, it was released in Japanese theaters on August 21, 1999. It won the Feature Film Award at the 1999 Animation Kobe. Set between the first and second seasons of the television series, the film follows Sakura Kinomoto and her friends as they travel to Hong Kong and encounter a vengeful spirit who was hurt by Clow Reed in the past. A second film, Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card, was released in 2000.
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal is the twelfth book in The Cat Who series of mystery novels by Lilian Jackson Braun, published in 1991.
Cardcaptor Sakura, abbreviated as CCS, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga group Clamp. Serialized monthly in the shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from the June 1996 to August 2000 issues, it was also published in 12 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha between November 1996 and July 2000. The story centers on Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student who discovers magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards into the world; she must retrieve the cards to prevent catastrophe. Each of these cards grants different magical powers, and can only be activated by someone with inherent magical abilities. A sequel by Clamp, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, focusing on Sakura in junior high school, began serialization in Nakayoshi in 2016.
The Young Adventurers is a collection of books written by Enid Blyton, also known as The Riddle Series.
Bleach: Hell Verse is a 2010 Japanese animated film directed by Noriyuki Abe. It is the fourth animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. In the film, Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends traverse through the world of Hell in order to save his younger sister, Yuzu. The film's theme song is "Save the One, Save the All", performed by T.M.Revolution and its screenplay was written by Natsuko Takahashi and Ookubo Masahiro, with Tite Kubo, author of the manga, overseeing the production.
Hollow Knight is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by independent developer Team Cherry. The player controls the Knight, an insectoid warrior exploring Hallownest, a fallen kingdom plagued by a supernatural disease. The game is set in diverse subterranean locations, featuring friendly and hostile insectoid characters and numerous bosses. Players have the opportunity to unlock abilities as they explore, along with pieces of lore and flavour text that are spread throughout the kingdom.