Reflections on the CEO Shooting & Morals of Speculative Fiction

Discussing Wind and Truth, Terra Ignota, Dune, Lord of the Rings and more

Introduction

A certain big news story has overtaken the internet in the past week, similar to how the Titan submersible incident did in June 2023, and tongue-in-cheek reactions online have been (perhaps surprisingly) similar considering the difference in morality and agency between the two events.

Instagram posts from The Onion (June 2023) and Reductress (December 2024)

I'm not going to talk much about the shooting itself, since if you've been online at all the past week you've heard more than enough about it. Instead I'll be reflecting on themes and morals in speculative fiction that feel relevant to the situation, in an attempt to grow my understanding of its causes.

The dilemma of our age: individual violence is wrong, but abusive corporate (and governmental) policies which lead to millions of deaths are legal – I can't help but also think of the opioid crisis, explored so hauntingly in Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. (I've written previously about real-world corruption if you're interested: Trump & Fictional Counterparts, Trump & Truth and "Twenties" by Ghost.)

Minor thematic spoilers for all the books I'm discussing today, especially newly released:

Wind and Truth

As I described in my previous post, Brandon Sanderson's Wind and Truth grapples heavily with ideas of universal law & morality and their usefulness in our ever-changing, subjective experience. Odium's deliberate, malicious corruption besets the cast at every turn, testing their Oaths to rigid, unchanging Honor by constantly putting them in no-win-scenarios. (Indeed there is a surprising amount of philosophical and practical game theory in the book.)

Szeth-son-Neturo, by Ren_v2 // Tanavast & the Stormfather, by Daitengu_koh

And this paralysis, being forced into losing by a corrupt system, feels pretty relevant to the societal injustices of our world. I wish I could go into Brandon's various answers in Wind and Truth, but for the sake of avoiding spoilers I'll just point to Star Trek's infamous example: sometimes you have to break the rules.

Terra Ignota

Explaining the (utopian cyberpunk?) world of Ada Palmer's philosophical science fiction epic Terra Ignota will have to wait, so I'll be a little vague today.

Suffice to say that although this world is generally post-scarcity, the trolley problem (in many variations) is a fundamental theme of the series. In many ways embodying and symbolizing the belief that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few is Ojiro Cardigan Sniper (it/its): Olympic champion, living doll model and member of the elite Saneer-Weeksbooth bash'.

Ojiro Cardigan Sniper, by Atiglain

Sniper explains part of its role near the beginning of the second novel:

Tyrants and assassins have a great symbiosis. Assassins are always evil and despised (even when our effects are good, we’re still a bad means to a good end) until tyrants crop up. Then suddenly assassins are heroes, lifelines; suddenly we alone have the power to save the world without a revolution and the destruction revolutions bring. You admit you need us. But, between tyrants, you forget that assassins will only be here, ready, when you want us if we’ve been here, ready, the whole time. You feel dirty keeping such a weapon in the house, but somebody has to keep one or it won’t be there when the bad wolf comes to huff and puff. My office is no less a pillar of this age than Censor or Anonymous. I serve with no less pride. - Ada Palmer, Seven Surrenders

Granted that this view doesn't quite track with last week's event: it doesn't seem like this will have much impact beyond expressing the frustration of millions.

J.E.D.D. Mason, by Atiglain

Another major character in Terra Ignota is J.E.D.D. Mason, birthed and raised by a group of the most influential people on the planet and consistently opposed to Sniper throughout the series. (There is so so so much to say about him, but again I'll wait for now.)

J.E.D.D. Mason intrinsically understands that all human life is infinitely sacred, to the extent that he freezes up for hours when confronted with the trolley problem. He is that most hopeful philosopher who firmly believes that there must be a better, bloodless solution to every problem. It's a beautiful sentiment, though only possible to maintain thanks to the fact he was born into the greatest position of political influence in the world.

But that is the alternative: overwhelming peaceful, democratic action which can't be ignored, in order to shape a new and better world. (Though I'm not convinced Palmer will guarantee that world's safety from corruption oozing back in.)

Dune, Lord of the Rings and Beyond

As I wrote a while back, a major moral of the Dune series is that humanity will not be truly safe until tyranny can never again oppress all humanity. In that article I argued that Frank Herbert was making some shaky assumptions with the solution of the Golden Path, though it – and Paul's journey in the original Dune novel – do offer useful parallels.

Leto II Atreides beginning the Golden Path, by Andrew Ryan

With both Paul against the Harkonnens and the Ixian plot against Leto, violent revolution is necessary to overthrow oppressive tyrants and their policies. It calls back to Odium in Wind and Truth and mirrors situations throughout speculative fiction.

Dungeons & Dragons is a game where you can do just about anything, but its mechanics and our societal knowledge of storytelling will almost universally lead to stories of heroes overthrowing corrupt, evil regimes – whether human, dragon, demon, undead, etc. – by sword and spell.

Sauron, the Dark Lord, by Kieran Yanner

After all, so much of the genre was influenced by The Lord of the Rings, where Sauron is an easy stand-in for Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini or any tyrant. Diplomacy famously failed horribly to address any of those historical figures, so is it any surprise that no one in Middle Earth suggests talking things out with the Dark Lord?

And yet

The events of last week, as already discussed, didn't overthrow anything or achieve meaningful change (beyond CEO security suddenly tightening). Vigilante actions don't mean much against the multiheaded, regenerating hydra that is systemic injustice.

So what's the takeaway? Wind and Truth is a great reminder that mindfulness is key on an individual level to recognize the injustices and dissonances in our own lives. Terra Ignota, Dune and the rest tell me that however it comes about, real change is going to require the unified effort of many people.

"One is not enough. The change must come from many." - Brandon Sanderson, Wind and Truth

Until next time <3