So, I’m reading this book, and

«“People are going to die when we do this.”

“People will die if we don’t. Oh, Sheridan—you’ve come so far, done so much good work for the cause. Please don’t quail now, at the final hurdle.”

“I won’t ‘quail,’” he said, resenting her tone.

“You trust me, don’t you? Absolutely, unquestioningly?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know that we are doing the right thing, the decent thing, the only human thing. When the time of transition is complete, the citizenry will thank us from the bottom of their hearts. And the time will be soon, Sheridan. Now that all but these last few trifling obstacles have been removed…”»

Aurora Rising Alastair Reynolds https://bookshop.org/p/books/aurora-rising-alastair-reynolds/1c76a81c9461d910?ean=9780316462570&next=t&digital=t

This is part of a conversation between the antagonist (at least, I *think* she’s the antagonist, but it’s early) and one of her henchmen. The dastardly plot is being exposed to the reader.

I’m supposed to hate the Bad Guy, and be secure in my knowledge that of *course* the people won’t welcome a dictatorship, but… We’ve just voted into power a gang that is destroying our government with the active endorsement of [Googles to see if “majority”means”over 50%”] a plurality of those who voted, and…

This Bad Guy is landing very differently than she would have a year ago, and I’m wondering if maybe the citizenry *would* thank her from the bottom of their hearts.

If the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, I think there are a LOT of people that don’t want to pay that price, that “eternal vigilance” is just too much work.

And that’s not a great feeling.

The only thing that gives me hope, oddly (and why should it be odd, John?), is the people of South Korea immediately throwing off an attempt to establish authoritarianism. (Well, and maybe the demonstrations in Germany against the far right, but we’ll see what happens at election time.)

But it’s definitely affecting my reading of this book.