the war. Ask a person in 1938 about “the war,” and they’ll talk about the first World War. Today, “the war” means Iraq. So the reader is aware of the practice of referring to wars non-specifically with the expectation a person will understand them. But the reader is thrown off, in this case, because in this fictional world what war it is, who fought, what the outcome was is not known.
Special Forces. This term has a meaning in the real-world military, but its application here is odd because Case apparently associates it with a gold earring.
console cowboy. Another reapplication of a recognizable name. This one has more apparent connotations: cowboy as renegade, cowboy as pejorative, cowboy as independent, cowboy as outlaw. All are applicable to the console cowboy as well.
(Case? Image from legendsofamerica.com)
Ice from ICE. This is an interesting example of the author pausing actually to explain an unknown reference. Maybe he thought the term “icebreaker” was too clever not to explain its etymology; regardless it’s a little out of place when the purpose of the other fictional references is to displace the reader, not to clue him or her in.
punch any deck.
