A double is two, right? A triple is three. We have words that describe higher numbers, like quadruple, quintuple and sextuple.
I have been thinking about A-B type situations. The one that is somewhat developed as far as I know is spies. Somebody sends a spy into the other force or group or team or society. That person gets detected or that person listens to the talk or the propaganda or the agonies of those around him and develops sympathy for those he at first intended to spy on. Our guy is becomes a double agent. He was working for the A side but now he is working for the B side, usually, I guess, letting B people know about his special connection to the A side and about his new B sympathies.
I wondered if a spy can be "turned", can force or reasoning or emotions "turn" a spy into a double agent. I thought that such a double agent might be persuaded by threats or money or something to "turn" again. I thought I would search for "triple agent" but the words came up in the search for "double agent". The triple agent started working for A but switched to B. Now, he is turned again and becomes a triple agent, worked for A, then B and then A again.
Naturally, I want to know how high can we go? Has there been a triple agent who switched again, so that he doubled back to working for the B side? Are there instances of quadruple agents? Quintuple agents?
I have a similar interest in receipts, now that it is getting to be tax time. Well, it is always tax time but for accounting purposes, the income tax is levied on my income for the past year, the one that just ended. Ok, every instant is ending some year but let's just use the Gregorian calendar and the current practice in the US. Once that big New York ball falls, our year 2018 changes to a new year and we can start tallying up annual income and taxes for the previous year.
Say that I gave a lovely but worn rug to the Goodwill. New, it was worth $500 but used and worn, they value the rug at $100. They give me a receipt, a piece of paper with writing that attests to the exchange and the associated values. Oops, I lost the receipt. Goodwill never got a receipt from me attesting to my having received a receipt. They want more records and begin demanding a receipt from me that I got a receipt from them. I balk at the idea and make a deal that I give them a receipt for their receipt but only if I …..
