the source of rex luscus' name is described in the story as the quote, "in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king". the original phrase is "in regione caecorum, rex est luscus," from desiderius erasmus roterodamus' collecteana adagiorum. this is likely to also be a reference to the early sf writer h. g. wells' story, "the country of the blind" in which a sighted man finds himself in a literal country of the blind, plots to use his advantage to rule them, but fails because his ability is not appreciated by the population.