But is it currying favor? Could just as well be "kiss the ring or you'll see your life's work AT&Ted into oblivion" Perhaps both: might have started as a pragm

But is it currying favor? Could just as well be "kiss the ring or you'll see your life's work AT&Ted into oblivion" Perhaps both: might have started as a pragmatic offer to bury the hatchet, then quickly turned into the never ending firehose of demands of an extortionist who just realized that he still all the cards after the extortee has given in.