The fact that Wolff and von Barronov are identified as Freemasons in The Lion of God is not a throwaway concept. It will turn out to be of vast importance in The Lion and The Lizard, going forward through The Lion in Paradise (and, as it turns out now that this is going to have to be four books, The Lion and the Abyss The Lion and the Darkness.)
At the same time, it also explains a lot of their character as good and charitable men (despite — or perhaps explaining — their cold-bloodedness when it comes to Communists, RIFs, and other such enemies of freedom). If you don’t know any or many Freemasons, this may not be clear to you; and certainly even I will have to admit there are plenty of men in our midst who probably shouldn’t have been allowed past the West Gate. But that’s true of any organization of humans.
Anyway, D., I didn’t put that in there just for kicks and giggles. It has a purpose, though that purpose isn’t made obvious in The Lion of God.
(Updated 26 Feb 2021 and again 20 Mar 2021)