Arc 7 Notes - The Devil

Arc Seven: The Devil

Chapters: 231 - 299

It might be easy to think of Lucifer as the arc's titular character, but that wouldn't be true. The arc has a ton of actual devils, all around. They come up from the shadows, and also down from the sky.

They're everywhere, which causes the obvious one to be the least devilish of all.

This chapter was pretty packed with all sorts of themes - gender fluidity, the role of law, and the changing nature of things. It also hinted at the nature of power, and how rigid and corruptible it can become.

But mostly, there was a need to explore the difference between anarchism and libertarianism, both of which sit dangerously close to each other. Especially when both groups are bridged by the spectrum of socialists and capitalists.

Eva, at this point in the story, represents social anarchism. At the same time, Eris and Lucifer both represent capitalist libertarianism. As a privateer and pirate, Eris more so than Lucifer.

IMO, the most perfect capitalist libertarians to exist on the planet are Somali pirates. I'll bet the moment you saw those words, you got an image of a bunch of men firing AKs at cargo ships. Whether or not the image is accurate doesn't really matter - that's the brand we were all fed.

They started out as fishermen who were literally protecting their own fishing grounds from the rest of the world. Because their country's navy collapsed, they realized that it was up to them to defend their own territory.

But it escalated into kidnappings, which led to profits, which led to outright piracy.

They realized that it allowed them to buy food for their families far easier than if they simply had to fish for their earnings. So they shifted their business from being fishers to pirates. More risk, sure, but also more pay.

The reason why I say it's the perfect capitalist libertarian "job", is because the shift would never have happened if the Somali government wasn't weak, or if they still had an effective navy. The lack of laws turned these businessmen into cutthroats.

That's pretty much what any anarcho-capitalist wants, deep down. Less laws, so they can do more earning. Less barriers, more profits.

At the cost of everyone else around them.

To me, Eris represents the perfect pirate player. The perfect libertarian. Think of Eris as being good friends with the Illusive Man. She operates very comfortably in completely lawless space, where no-one can tell her what to do.

Just like every other billionaire on the planet.

Well, alright, maybe not all. But definitely the richest ones. We all know Peter Thiel is the most infamous tech libertarian jackass, but we can't forget Musk and Bezos either. All of those men are completely abhorrent.

Whatever you may believe about them, the truth is that they treat the people who work for them like trash. If they truly loved their employees, a great portion of that wealth they enjoy would go to said employees.

Considering what they're all creating, everyone who works there should be millionaires.

But those CEOs don't share - they hoard. They're literal dragons who sleep on their wealth, just to feel the gold on their scaly skin. When they want more, they burn the peasantry underfoot and take what they want.

We can't deny that they've helped create some great things. The push for electronic cars and easy commerce are both ridiculously powerful at this point in time. We all most certainly benefit from the work they've done.

But you see, to them, that's just a side effect. All they really care about is the money.

When they go to sleep at night, they have dreams of dismantling governments, privatizing absolutely everything in their wake, and swimming in pools full of gold doubloons. Like all proper oligarchs do.

So this arc is Eva and the Ravens getting lured to their side, towards anarcho-capitalism. Thankfully they resist. Though in the process, they inadvertently pulled Lucifer away from that mindset as well.

The themes of power and control and freedom and fluidity all kind of mix a bit here, to reflect Eva's own thoughts and feelings on them.

And some might be wondering what Xylo's and Claire's roles are, because they don't seem to be quite like the rest of the Ravens. Sure, they'll do the aging and dying thing, but that's a really long way away.

Right now, they represent left wing and right wing ideals. Just the super basics, nothing specific. Claire was a cop, Xylo was a soldier. Support vs front line. Budget focused vs profit focused. Both love the adventure and freedom that their life gives them.

Their roles should grow in the next arc considerably. Or at least, I'll try to. All the Ravens are going to become leaders, so arc 8 will be a test of the ethics and morality they learn from this arc.

Also, it happened almost completely by luck, but arc 7 ended with 69 chapters, lol. Cutting out a few subplots was definitely a good idea, at least in hindsight.