#Tag
Loki is my copilot 
#catsofmastodon #cats #theexpanse #expanse #framework #laptop
I've been reading "Tiamat's Wrath", the eighth book of the #expanse series, and while the entire universe seems to provide the most plausible projection for a future equilibrium in which today's broligarchs get at least 65% of what they want, this book—describing a galaxy in which humanity finally thought it had reached some sort of peace after generations of conflict are now confronted with the the imposition of velvet-hammer galactic authoritarianism, seems the most relevant to where we are now.
(note: I _haven't_ finished it; no spoilers please! It's like one of the few cases in which I can currently take pleasure in escapism at the moment)
1/?
The consequences of opposing the regime are dire, and one gets the sense that all of those advantage will, to use a current vernacular, progressively enshittify. In their enforcement of norms they commit what we would consider atrocities; in their aspirations to grandeur and dominance they take ridiculously outsized risks which affect their entire domain—thousands of civilizations. Bets that _seem_ asymmetric, until they go wrong.
Naturally, there is an underground opposition. Naturally, there are overtures to them with the attractiveness of incentives coupled with the direness of consequences of refusal to leave many with impossible choices. We find that some of our heroes keep fighting, however clandestinely. We find that others of our heroes take a pragmatic approach, and opt to live for tomorrow's fight, even if that means swallowing their pride. Some don't even get that chance. Most are making the best of a situation that's bad and is repulsive to their every fiber.
Everyone is presented with a smorgasbord of hills to die on, and choice of unobjectionable and even pleasant alternative valleys in which to settle—but _everyone_ has to turn a blind eye to something, even if it is their own pride and the feeling of a taint they can't scrub off.
3/
One of the things I love about the #fediverse is that it tends to act as a very effective filter: those who earn their bacon in the hype cycle tend to find better success elsewhere, and at least expend less effort here. Hopping around here is like knowing where the best dive bars are in every city one visits. And for me, the best dive bars have always attracted smart, creative, and hilarious people. Or, at least, people who are in the smart, creative, and hilarious phase of their lives. And while everyone is different, I will say that it is a rare oddity to run into someone who isn't all of the above, endowed with strong sense of values and ethical orientation.
But, and I'm honestly really nervous about putting this out there as I want it to be interpreted as a jostling-to-senses, but I worry it may be rounded down to capitulation...
What if, as in late in the #expanse cycle—as the punks and the freedom fighters and the antifascists and the chardonnay armada and everyone in between have come together and become so inwardly-facing that the they still think small relative to vast hidden changes that are stirring—what if some of the battles we're choosing, the filters we're applying simply wear us down in aggregate in the long run? What if that is what the adversaries are counting on, because probability, in a time of chaos, is on the side of those with actual power?
4/
I've been reading "Tiamat's Wrath", the eighth book of the #expanse series, and while the entire universe seems to provide the most plausible projection for a future equilibrium in which today's broligarchs get at least 65% of what they want, this book—describing a galaxy in which humanity finally thought it had reached some sort of peace after generations of conflict are now confronted with the the imposition of velvet-hammer galactic authoritarianism, seems the most relevant to where we are now.
(note: I _haven't_ finished it; no spoilers please! It's like one of the few cases in which I can currently take pleasure in escapism at the moment)
1/?
