Do I know anybody here who’d not choose Utopia in a heartbeat? Okay, I could maybe see one or two Blacklaw/Graylaw Hiveless. But it seems such an obvious choice to me?? But there are probably some Masons, Mitsubishi, Cousins, Brillists, Europeans or Humanists out there? So reblog and put your Hive in the tags!
Masons have cool aesthetics and, probably, norms totally incompatible with me; maybe Utopia, but I like having a bit more structure than that.
Humanists, probably, accounting for everything.
I was never sure about this, because we get only sparse and selective detail about what the Hives (especially the more “normal” ones) are actually like for ordinary members. Like, what is the practical upshot (in terms of laws and stuff) of choosing Mason vs. European, say?
Anyway, it recently hit me that I’d probably fit in best with the Brillists. Fascination with the diversity of human minds, all the little particular ways that people can be and behave; intellectual and scientific values, but without the grandiose Utopian goals.
I also lean Brillists! German university town is much more my aesthetic than moon base, and that’s a significant factor, but they’re also methodologically my type. I think I’d find the Utopian worldview (rare instance where this term isn’t metaphorical) exhausting. I do believe in the perpetual need for improvement, but I don’t want to constantly see everything in terms of its flaws. And if Mycroft’s third-hand account of Apollo Mojave’s conversation with Cornel MASON can be taken seriously, the problem is much more severe. I wouldn’t do well in a society where turning down a scientific research posting due to family obligations is seen as and abdication of moral responsibility so unthinkable that world war seems like an appropriate response.
On a more positive note, the Brillists seem more like collaborative scholars and intellectuals than lone geniuses (which is also an issue I’d have with the humanists). They don’t go in for charismatic leading lights, but from what little we see of them, they seem curious and engaged, and if their experiments ever work out it might totally obviate the rest of the plot. I’m not much of a psychologist, and the number thing is a little creepy, but I could probably find my niche.
It also helps that Felix Faust is the only hive leader we’ve met who I actually like.
One thing that seemed weird to me is how single-hive the bashes all seemed to all be. I feel like I’d rather be in a house with Humanists, Brillists, Cousins, etc. in a symbiotic relationship than isolated.
We know of at least one very prominent ‘bash operating on exactly that model (the Mardis), and one other that seems at least willing to countenance dealing with multiple Hives for the sake of personal relationships (the Kosala/Ancelet ‘bash). Plus there are the Mitsubishi kids, whatever you make of them.
…I believe that, in fact, the real world is very much riven along a line of “do you expect ideological diversity or ideological conformity amongst your nearest-and-dearest?” I certainly much prefer the former, but the entire Internet suggests that the latter position is extremely popular.