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In Lea Carpenter's Ilium, some of the spies have escape and evasion maps. Also known as escape maps or silk maps, these are scarves imprinted with maps that intelligence officers and soldiers have historically used when they've ended up behind enemy lines. They offer information about how best to escape or at least find somewhere safe to hide.
These maps were heavily used by Allied forces in World War II thanks to the genius of British intelligence officer Christopher Clayton Hutton. Hutton's career path was eclectic (including stints as a pilot and film marketer), as was the man himself. A fan of Houdini, Hutton used his love of escapes in his capacity as Technical Officer in the Escape Department at MI9.
Making escape maps was one of his priorities, but they needed to fit certain criteria. Eventually, he came up with the idea of printing on silk; they could be stored easily and quickly, they didn't make any noise, and, with their waterproof ink, they could survive getting wet. ...
