Freeminders: What do we know?

[Cavalier]

So, not having Trial by Chaos, I am lacking in the details of this Dark Age heretical movement among Clan Ghost Bear. I do know they're a bunch of relative moderates who cite obviously forged writings by Nicholas Kerensky to argue against the caste system, truebirth superiority, and everything else that makes Clanners... Clanners. So, bully for them.

Still. Was a history of the movement, even in patches, established in the novel? Like who the first Freeminders were, when their movement surfaced, how badly they were persecuted, and so on. What were their actual goals and attitudes? Any help putting together a coherent picture of the movement will be greatly appreciated.

[Stormfury]

Moderates isn't necessarily the word I would use. By Clan standards, they are quite out there, though they limit themselves to graffitti and the like rather than bombing campaigns.

The Clans probably would persecute them if they could, but like the Scientist conspiracy before them, they are a closed group. Very difficult to find, and they operate in cells.

The movement's goal is to do away with the Clans and the Caste system in favour of a society that basically inverts the Clan social structure- warriors at the bottom, civillians on top. It is popular with the Labourer and Technician Castes, primarily because they lack the power or prestige of the other two.

The goal of the leader, the uKhan (under-Khan) is to gather as much temporal power to himself as possible. The ideology does not interest him; he merely wants to be in charge and chafes at not being there yesterday.

The movement only really surfaces on Vega, and even then because it's the Bears' Omega Galaxy- which appears to having gone from a unit the Clan at large finds distasteful to an active sink unit, at least outside the ranks of the Warriors. Because they have greater autonomy from the Bears by virtue of not being in the Dominion and mingling more freely with Spheroids, the lower castes find the new ideas interesting.

It is worth nothing that perhaps not all of their documentation is forged. The uKhan gets his manifesto forged, claiming that Kerensky had always planned for the Caste system to break down after the passage of a set period of time, after which it is rainbows and puppy dogs for all. However, he did have some authentic writings of Kerensky, and it is implied in the novel that mainstream Clan society would not be too fond of what it said about the Castes or what Kerensky's intention for them and the Clans were.

Apparently whatever it did say did not go far enough for the uKhan's tastes, though.

As to how pervasive it is? We only really know about it in the Bears. The Wolves have always been generous with their civilians, as have the Diamond Sharks/Sea Foxes. The Hell's Horses and Jade Falcons are somewhat more repressive, and if it is to be found outside the Bears those are the Clans I would look to.

[roosterboy]

The movement's goal is to do away with the Clans and the Caste system in favour of a society that basically inverts the Clan social structure- warriors at the bottom, civillians on top.

No.

“The Codex doesn’t call for the end of the caste system, only a reform of it, a melding of the lower castes. The warrior caste would still operate much as it does now, though with more opportunity for individual expression.”

“But Reuben tells me that you still believe in the importance of the warrior caste.”

“All are equal. Some are more equal than others.” He chuckled at some secret joke. “In the context of working life, we believe in the sanctity of the warrior caste. But within this organization, we must all be equals. You will note that they are not using your rank—”

Essentially, they want more equality amongst the castes, though with warriors still on top. They want more mobility between the civilian castes. They want the ability to marry and procreate with whomever they choose—Clan or Spheroid—without the interference of the scientists.

The goal of the leader, the uKhan (under-Khan) is to gather as much temporal power to himself as possible. The ideology does not interest him; he merely wants to be in charge and chafes at not being there yesterday.

No.

The voice laughed deeply, and the voice distorter made it intermittently sound like someone gargling. “I’m no king, Conner Hall. I’m only a nominal leader, and I don’t much enjoy the role. I don’t want people ever to take the office or the person occupying it too seriously. That’s part of why I chose my—whimsical title. Frankly, one reason I’m looking forward to revealing myself is that it will open the way to electing a replacement.

He makes it clear in his discussions with Isis Bekker that he is leading the Freeminder movement because he believes the changes they are advocating to Ghost Bear society will come eventually and that it's better to guide those changes for the benefit of the Clan rather than suppress them and have them potentially erupt later down the road.

The Freeminders are a threat to nothing but certain traditions, and none of these traditions are central to our core beliefs, not as Ghost Bears anyway. They espouse the virtues of free thought and nonconformity, but in my opinion they have more interest in the freedom to do these things, than in actually doing them. They are, at heart, still Ghost Bears, and still Clan. Creating new freedoms will eventually lead to change, but it could take decades or longer. I think that the contamination resulting from living in the Inner Sphere leads to such change anyway. Perhaps by openly acknowledging this, we can guide and control it.

The Freeminders are a greater threat if we try to suppress them than if we simply continue to look the other way. Certainly they run contrary to practices of the Clans as a whole, but we are already regarded as outcasts and Inner Sphere apologists, even by many in our own Clan. Ultimately, they do little harm, and may do much good.

The movement only really surfaces on Vega, and even then because it's the Bears' Omega Galaxy- which appears to having gone from a unit the Clan at large finds distasteful to an active sink unit, at least outside the ranks of the Warriors. Because they have greater autonomy from the Bears by virtue of not being in the Dominion and mingling more freely with Spheroids, the lower castes find the new ideas interesting.

The movement has been around for decades within the Dominion, waxing and waning in popularity through the years, but has only recently become rather strong. It was moribund when the UnderKhan discovered it and revitalized it.

It is worth nothing that perhaps not all of their documentation is forged. The uKhan gets his manifesto forged, claiming that Kerensky had always planned for the Caste system to break down after the passage of a set period of time, after which it is rainbows and puppy dogs for all. However, he did have some authentic writings of Kerensky, and it is implied in the novel that mainstream Clan society would not be too fond of what it said about the Castes or what Kerensky's intention for them and the Clans were.

Apparently whatever it did say did not go far enough for the uKhan's tastes, though.

The implication is just the opposite, actually.

[Cavalier]

Hmm. Interesting. Okay, my vague picture of the Freeminders was obviously off in some important respects. The changes they seek to the castes sound a lot like what the Capellan Confederation is supposed to look like, with even a nominal tipoff to the importance of the Warriors ala the Lorix Order. Though I doubt there was any direct influence, but on the other hand the tenants of the Capellan system were put in place over the Star League so they would have been known  even before the Exodus. And the original Bear Khan Laurie Tseng was, herself, Capellan, now that I think about it. Were any direct comparisons with the Confederation mentioned? (I doubt it but this is an interesting thread.)

And of the waxing and waning for decades, is it a movement that appeared only after the Dominion was established or does it have roots predating the Clan Invasion? Any relationship with the Dark Caste?

And what about those writings of Kerensky? Betrayal of Ideals seemed to establish him as a hardline Clan supremacist who wouldn't tolerate slackening of the bonds of the caste system. Though I think I have heard somewhere that he only intended the iron wombs to be a temporary solution to a population problem and did not intend for Truebirths to be considered a superior class of people. Was that the forgery the Freeminders committed?

[roosterboy]

Were any direct comparisons with the Confederation mentioned? (I doubt it but this is an interesting thread.)

Nope.

And of the waxing and waning for decades, is it a movement that appeared only after the Dominion was established or does it have roots predating the Clan Invasion? Any relationship with the Dark Caste?

Post-invasion.

Some said we Ghost Bears were losing our identity as a Clan. As more Clansman embraced change, forces aligned in response to forcefully crush it. It was in this jostling between the forces of unbridled reform and rigid oppression that the first Freeminders were born. They advocated a freedom of thought and change that most Clansmen considered wrong and found frightening. Three times the Freeminders rose up as a secret force for change. Three times, they were swept away by hard-line Clan traditionalists.

When for decades they did not return, it seemed that the days of the Freeminders were done. But change was not. Despite all efforts to the contrary, Ghost Bear society could not survive unchanged in such close proximity to the much different society of the native freeborn.

The uKhan apparently took control of the moribund movement maybe circa 3130 or so. He had worked to rebuild it for five years before the collapse of The Republic afforded him an opportunity to kickstart his bigger plans into action.

And what about those writings of Kerensky? Betrayal of Ideals seemed to establish him as a hardline Clan supremacist who wouldn't tolerate slackening of the bonds of the caste system. Though I think I have heard somewhere that he only intended the iron wombs to be a temporary solution to a population problem and did not intend for Truebirths to be considered a superior class of people. Was that the forgery the Freeminders committed?

Though Betrayal of Ideals does indicate that McEvedy, at least, was under the impression that many of Kerensky's changes were to be temporary and part of her discontent was that they were proving to be quite permanent. So the idea was out there in the early days of the Clan, which could lend some credibility to the Final Codex's claims. Or maybe McEvedy was just kidding herself about Kerensky's intentions.

The forgery that the uKhan has done by agents of Jacob Bannson at the end of the novel is to remove certain elements "in the interest of enlightenment and harmony" amongst the Bears. He refers to these things to be removed as "shortcomings". But, as far as he can tell, the document he has is legit, though he only has a few pages of the original.

“You misunderstand. I don’t have the Final Codex. I have seen it, and I uncovered copies of selected pages in a sealed Ghost Bear archive many years ago. I was able to secure copies of these copies, and they have been distributed through the Freeminders. But while I know the full text exists and where it is, my efforts to obtain it have thus far been unsuccessful. That too, I hope to change soon.”

“If the Clan has this document, will it not be properly secured? Will they not miss it if it is gone?”

“The Final Codex was suppressed more than two centuries ago, and likely forgotten when the Khans and Loremasters who suppressed it died. Many archived documents and artifacts are secured by the Clans out of habit and procedure, rather than out of concern over what they represent. Much of our history is simply locked away and forgotten. That too, I would like to end.”

[Hawkeye Jim]

“You misunderstand. I don’t have the Final Codex. I have seen it, and I uncovered copies of selected pages in a sealed Ghost Bear archive many years ago. I was able to secure copies of these copies, and they have been distributed through the Freeminders. But while I know the full text exists and where it is, my efforts to obtain it have thus far been unsuccessful. That too, I hope to change soon.”

“If the Clan has this document, will it not be properly secured? Will they not miss it if it is gone?”

“The Final Codex was suppressed more than two centuries ago, and likely forgotten when the Khans and Loremasters who suppressed it died. Many archived documents and artifacts are secured by the Clans out of habit and procedure, rather than out of concern over what they represent. Much of our history is simply locked away and forgotten. That too, I would like to end.”

This particular passage I find intriguing.

[Cavalier]

Thanks for the information and quotes. Clears up what the Freeminders are about and where they are coming from. Outside the whole "marry freebirths" stuff that reviews on the old board seemed to focus on. Much more subtle plot element than I thought and it should be interesting to see if anything actually happens with it.

[Stormfury]

He makes it clear in his discussions with Isis Bekker that he is leading the Freeminder movement because he believes the changes they are advocating to Ghost Bear society will come eventually and that it's better to guide those changes for the benefit of the Clan rather than suppress them and have them potentially erupt later down the road.

In that section, yes. IIRC there is a sequence where he soliloquizes at the end of the novel about how tough he and his parents had things and the effect it had on him. The impression I got was that the uKhan was about as serious about things as Conal Ward was about being a Crusader- it merely served his personal goals.

[roosterboy]

In that section, yes. IIRC there is a sequence where he soliloquizes at the end of the novel about how tough he and his parents had things and the effect it had on him.

I don't see anything like that in Trial By Chaos.

The impression I got was that the uKhan was about as serious about things as Conal Ward was about being a Crusader- it merely served his personal goals.

The book really paints him as someone who genuinely believes in the cause he is leading.