"The Totalitarian Mind" Commentary

[DeJaVu]

First off, I know some folks are disappointed to see another story where the Capellans come up short at the hands of the Federated Suns. But this is the Fourth Succession War, not much opportunity to change that!

When Jason solicited stories for this anthology he said: "The angle I'm looking for with this project is one of change. The Fourth Succession War was a universe-altering event. No single event had such a catalyzing event on the Inner Sphere in almost 250 years. The difference in world view between the generation before and the generation after would have been extraordinary."

It's a fascinating approach, an attempt to catch a moment in history when everything changed.

So change.

I could've written about changes in tactics or how the war impacted the Federation society, but I think Stackpole did that quite well already--and who am I to revise the master?

Why not tell a story from the Capellan point of view.

This story isn't really about the POV character, it's about his brother. (The MechWarrior brother is there to show a more flexible mind's response to the Capellan defeat and to show the cost of his brother's loss.)

I didn't intend to portray a bumbling Mask agent. Shen Hai was smart and loyal and totally committed. And yet he still loses. He does everything he possibly can and STILL loses.

Now that would be shattering for anyone. But how would it be for a Capellan?

Capella is a closed society, a totalitarian society, where the "truth" is carefully controlled. How would a citizen of such a society, a true believer, react to the failure of that society?

"The Totalitarian Mind" is the result . . .