His only great ability was to induce whatever emotions he wished in other people.
Only? That’s absolutely huge. Overwriting the decision making in other agents is about the most fundamental and far reaching power you can have over them. Given how much power emotions have in decision making controlling those is a big deal. Obviously it needs to go along with some solid strategic thinking. Even if that strategic thinking just happens to be finding someone else with better strategic thinking and making them your emotional thrall first off. In terms of superpowers that isn’t quite up there with the big ones like time travel but it is way, way above most mundane combat oriented powers.
No doubt it’s absolutely huge, but it is the only power he had.
To say it differently. Instead of armies and colonies and such, with this ability he was able to get everything else. Including generals and their armies.
OTOH, what Hitler had? Nothing except the hypnotic power over the individuals and over the masses. What a democratic leader has? He or she can induce the right emotions in other people. This, inducing emotions in others, is the fundamental tool for power gathering. Mule was only very, very strong.
As they say, you must win their hearths. Emotions, all the specter of them.
No doubt it’s absolutely huge, but it is the only power he had.
Yes, I just don’t see why this is particularly impressive. To me it sounds like saying “He won the fight but he was only five times the size of the other guy.” Hardly surprising and the emphasis is jarring!
Let say it is the key power. Having others to feel the way you want them to feel.
Everything else follows and every politician knows that.
So, if you want to go to Rome and be the Emperor, you must ensure they will desire to see yourself on that place. Either by inducing love or fear or something else in them. You can go a normal way which maybe takes decades—or just walk in and trigger a deep love toward you in every Roman. That would be the Mule’s way. Currently unavailable, but what’s another 100 (?) years in the context of already more than 2000?
Even then, it’s a more subtle problem than it appears to be.
Everyone loves you, or worse, everyone fears you. Suppose you have a bad idea like the Great Leap Forward. Who’s going to tell you? Fear guarantees that they won’t. If they don’t love Rome as well as you, they might not tell you because they don’t want you to feel sad.
If they do love Rome as well as you, there’s a risk they might decide you’re bad for Rome.
Only? That’s absolutely huge. Overwriting the decision making in other agents is about the most fundamental and far reaching power you can have over them. Given how much power emotions have in decision making controlling those is a big deal. Obviously it needs to go along with some solid strategic thinking. Even if that strategic thinking just happens to be finding someone else with better strategic thinking and making them your emotional thrall first off. In terms of superpowers that isn’t quite up there with the big ones like time travel but it is way, way above most mundane combat oriented powers.
No doubt it’s absolutely huge, but it is the only power he had.
To say it differently. Instead of armies and colonies and such, with this ability he was able to get everything else. Including generals and their armies.
OTOH, what Hitler had? Nothing except the hypnotic power over the individuals and over the masses. What a democratic leader has? He or she can induce the right emotions in other people. This, inducing emotions in others, is the fundamental tool for power gathering. Mule was only very, very strong.
As they say, you must win their hearths. Emotions, all the specter of them.
Yes, I just don’t see why this is particularly impressive. To me it sounds like saying “He won the fight but he was only five times the size of the other guy.” Hardly surprising and the emphasis is jarring!
Let say it is the key power. Having others to feel the way you want them to feel.
Everything else follows and every politician knows that.
So, if you want to go to Rome and be the Emperor, you must ensure they will desire to see yourself on that place. Either by inducing love or fear or something else in them. You can go a normal way which maybe takes decades—or just walk in and trigger a deep love toward you in every Roman. That would be the Mule’s way. Currently unavailable, but what’s another 100 (?) years in the context of already more than 2000?
Even then, it’s a more subtle problem than it appears to be.
Everyone loves you, or worse, everyone fears you. Suppose you have a bad idea like the Great Leap Forward. Who’s going to tell you? Fear guarantees that they won’t. If they don’t love Rome as well as you, they might not tell you because they don’t want you to feel sad.
If they do love Rome as well as you, there’s a risk they might decide you’re bad for Rome.
You are already the Emperor, game’s over.
But you can reign happily forever, by cleverly manage their emotions, to avoid “bad news filtering” and such.