These stories do not reflect the mere fact of machine omnipotence. They reflect how that power is perceived. In the Culture, the godlike Minds are loved because they create possibility without coercion. In Prime Intellect, the god is hated because it transforms agency into obedience.

Beneath the slogans and the muskets, behind the pamphlets and powdered wigs, there was a class of men who understood exactly what was at stake—and how to benefit from it.

The Revolution was not simply a war against an imperial power. It was also a bitter, intimate conflict within the colonies themselves. The fight tore communities apart, broke families, pitted neighbors against neighbors, and created lasting wounds that were felt long after the treaties were signed.

"For there is no friend like a sister, In calm or stormy weather; To cheer one on the tedious way, To fetch one if one goes astray, To lift one if one totters down, To strengthen whilst one stands."

Rather than allow democratic reforms, elites may respond by embracing nationalist rhetoric, surveillance regimes, and militarized policing. This convergence of state and corporate power—what Mussolini referred to as corporatism—is widely regarded as the economic backbone of fascism.