Sofa: Where’s that from? It sounds interesting. It’s not the answer to the question, though–which is, as I said, literary.
Blown off kneecaps, huh? Hmm.
I was reading it as “the rules for T2,” where Ah-nold’s protectee tells him he’s not allowed to kill anyone.
So he spends the rest of the film shooting people in the legs.
But I figured I’d be wrong; I wouldn’t dare call that screenplay “literary.” Fun, yes.
Okay, how about this one:
The Rules 42 are the 42 directions that Pope (later Saint) Leo IV crafted for Catholic priests in order for them to live more pious lives, around 850 a.d.
Or, perhaps it’s the 42 months that the Beast is predicted to rule over the earth, as seen in Revelations.
or… (digging around in the book box) I’ll have to get back to you on that.
[Jack Attack]
whispering Remember the clue…
[/Jack Attack]
Okay, does the clue about Elliot Richardson, Herbert Brownell, and Bobby Kennedy lead to Harvard, or Harvard Law School even? I know Kennedy went there, and have found out Brownell did too, and I think Richardson was an attorney general as well; so maybe he went there. This is what made me guess 1642 (not that that’s the year Harvard was founded, I just thought it might have gone back that far). But I forgot that it’s literary … guess I need some more time to think.
So is it some code of conduct at Harvard?
I’m afraid the clue’s a bit more oblique than that. 
To compensate, however, here’s a much crisper hint:
Half the answer’s in the middle of the riddle, and the other half isn’t.
One more week to guess that last question, y’all, and then the gift certificate’s off the table!
Plus, I’m surprised that no one’s taken a whack at the Falcon/Satan dichotomy. Falcon? Satan?