User blog comment:GrandMethuselah67/Neutral 'verse Character Sheet: Emperor Bradley Hargrave/@comment-28694519-20160901221623/@comment-4867780-20160902005646

I see ! So he's the kind of person who lives by principles rather than greed or affection.

He seems to have to have this in common with Lawrence (paramount valuation of abstract principles : fairness, freedom and honesty for the later), though strong emotional connections are what gives his existence value and meaning, while Bradley seems to stand mid-way between The Fettered (live up to his ideals) and The Unfettered (achieve his goal no matter what), with human connections being apparently irrelevant in his life.

In a way, he reminds me of what Lelouch vi Britania would probably have been without his little sister Nunnally : making the world a better place because that's what he personally wants, and ruthlessly crushing anything that stands in his way.

Good point, I hadn't realized that the concepts of tyranny and utopia were actually compatible, and ultimately more credible than a liberal one, where everyone do as they please and yet everything turns out alright somehow (much more difficult to imagine, as any given person's freedom and wishes obviously interfere with those of others in myriads of ways).

What are Bradley's goal overall ? Being more popular than his father by essentially using the same tools in a more subtle way ? That doesn't that strike him as a tiny bit hypocritical ? ^ ^;

I remember Cassius' handling on dissidents was "reevaluating" them into loyal subjects, can't wait to see what Bradley has in store for his troublemakers. Though the other hand, a cruel punishment would only make sense if the punished serves as example for the others, while Bradley's approach seems to be most secretive, which seems to make the cruelty somewhat pointless in the end.