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If you look on page 23, panel five, in The Calculus Affair, you will see a shockingly familiar face in a portrait on the wall. Dr. Müller is apparently the brother (Friend? Cousin?) of Professor Topolino. Maybe this was how Borduria found out about Calculus' invention!
So, maybe it went like this: Calculus sends a letter to Professor Topolino about his invention, and, perhaps, "Boris", who was actually Dr. Müller masquerading as a servant, was a Bordurian spy, who then alerted his superiors and started a plot to kidnap Calculus, both so Borduria could become a dangerous power, and to get back at Tintin. Does this sound plausible?

Of course, the portrait on the wall isn't necessarily of "Boris", and I actually don't see why a master would have a picture of his servant at all. It definitely looks like Dr. Dr. Müller, though.

I'd say whilst not impossible, it's very unlikely that Dr. Müller is any way related or connected with Topolino. Apart from the fact that both Dr. Müller and the person in the picture at Topolino's house are bald and have beards, I can't see or think of why there would be any connection between them. I can think of plenty of reasons why they wouldn't be related; I don't think they look that much alike, Topolino is Swiss Italian and Dr. Müller German, Dr. Müller was more concerned with pursuing a take-over in the Wadesdah region, etc.

That picture is probably of some Swiss scientist. How about the Swiss Geologist Albert Heim? One of Prof. Topolino's heroes perhaps? :)

My belief is that Dr. Müller never left the Wadesdah area after Tintin's encounter with him in Land of Black Gold.

There was a connection between Dr. Müller and Bab El Ehr in Land of Black Gold, because Muller's oil company, Skoil, wanted to control oil in the region. And we see that after Bab El Ehr seizes power in The Red Sea Sharks (the book directly after The Calculus Affair) Dr. Müller becomes Mull Pasha, a "revolutionary leader" according to the newspaper at the end.

Well I think 'shockingly familiar' is a bit of an exageration. It's a bloke with a beard. Plenty of men wear beards. In fact apart from the fact that the person in the portrait has a beard, I don't think there is a resemblance to Dr. Dr. Müller at all.

Okay, even if it's improbable, what does everyone think of my conspiracy theory?

Interesting question. I think years ago a 'conspiracy theory' was like any other theory - a claim that hadn't yet been proven to be fact. But I guess today a conspiracy theory can mean any improbable claim, or a claim which has little evidence for it.

Anyway, my answer would still be the same. Improbable!

It could be possible. We know from Black Gold that Dr. Müller was 'A secret agent for a major foreign power...'
He could have gone to work for the Bordurians after the debacle in the desert, but with the apparent full and thorough interrogation by the police and subsequent trial, I think Dr. Müller laid low for a very long time after that. Which probably answers why you think he never left the Wadesdah area, Harrock. Prison? :)
Would the trial be in Wadesdah, however?

Definitely in Wadesdah. Müller thought he would be tortured and executed by Ben Kalish Ezab for kidnapping Abdullah, which is why he attempted suicide. So, I imagine he spent a lengthy period in jail in Wadesdah. Hopefully he wasn't beaten and tortured too much.

But Müller involved in Borduria? I feel the same way about this as I do about a lot of other 'conspiracy theories'; what is wrong with the official version of events?

Maybe Dr. Müller escaped from Khemed with the help of the Bordurian Secret Service, but then went back there under the name of Mull Pascha after the whole thing with Calculus' invention failed.

16 Oct 2021 13:56 - Merged topic:
Calculus Affair: 3 funny details I noticed
Moderator Note: Merged this topic with existing thread, as it revisits the same discussion...

When I was reading The Calculus Affair today, I noticed a few funny details, which perhaps would make an interesting discussion.

Firstly, Professor Topolino has all of the shutters in his house closed up. Does the Professor not like sunlight? Does it interfere with his research? Are his neighbors a bit too nosy for his liking? Perhaps the phony Calculus who clobbered him and threw him in the cellar closed them up so that no one would see him.

Secondly, Inside Professor Topolino's house (page 23, panel 5) there is a small portrait of Dr. Müller hanging on the wall. Is this not actually Müller, but instead a portrait of his servant, Boris? Is he actually a friend of Müller, or a relative? They have different names, but it would be just like Müller to change his name (and he did, of course, in Land of Black Gold, going by "Professor Smith," and in The Red Sea Sharks by the name of "Mull Pascha").

Thirdly, when Arthuro Bendetto etc. reckessly drives his car through the marketplace in the large panel on page 38, there is a little old man standing next to a building in the region of the upper right-hand corner who looks surprisingly like Philipulus the Prophet. He has the cane, the black suit, and stands very hunched over. I can just hear him saying "Behold! The Judgment! Reckless drivers!"
;-)

I would imagine that the absence of Boris the servant might be one reason: he closed them the evening before, was called away, and the Professor didn't have time or the inclination to open them all himself.
It is also good weather - perhaps the house is cooler if the shutters are kept closed?

I'm not convinced by this personally: it's a picture of a bearded chap, certainly, but not Müller specifically - there are several similar figures in the books (just look at the gallery of portraits inside the covers of a hard-back album for some more), so I think it is just a typical look for Hergé to draw.

I think the Professor would have to be very sentimental to have a portrait of his man-servant on display in his house so prominently.

That's a more plausible identification, but he's lost his trademark hair, and picked up a wife or girlfriend! Personally I think it looks more like a descendant of Geriatrix and the beautiful Mrs. Geriatrix from Asterix!