“Answer the question really asked. And answer it with your life.”

Shag: Man comes to the door, asks if the King’s inside. Tell me. What’s he really asking?

Garnet: He’s asking, ‘May I kill your guest? Will you open the door for me to kill him?’ He’s asking, ‘Will you hand over to me one more victim to add to the long slow massacre that is becoming our history?’ To which an honest man answers—

Shag: No. No! You answer the question that’s really being asked.

Garnet: Equivocation. Don’t answer the question they’re asking. If a dishonest man has formed the question, there will be no honest answer. Answer the question beneath the question. The equivalent question. Answer the question really asked. And answer it with your life.

“Equivocation” by Bill Cain