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Both chapters deal with super human psychics that can program other people (one group in person, and one person at a distance). All of this is in the context of shepherding in a new golden age of human prosperity in another 700 years of darkness..

But... if you can program people... why do you need to wait? If you remove people's agency what is the point of them having a "golden age". The aspect of super human paternalistic gardeners falls flat in their lack of execution.

I understand this is probably a product of various short stories trying new things out, and its more fantasy then hard science fiction...

• Elim Garak starts as a tailor in exile on Deep Space 9; the harmless image is deliberate.
• He has no rank, yet survives crises that remove people with far more formal authority.
• His leverage comes from acting without responsibility, title, or institutional records.

Cardassian power and why exile sharpens Garak

• Cardassian rule uses information and identity as tools; truth is whatever works.
• In "The Wire," loyalty is enforced with secrets, implants, and obligation; survival pairs obedience with deniability.
• In "Second Skin," identity can be rewritten; narrative control punishes ambiguity.
• The Obsidian Order’s inward turn in "Improbable Cause" shows surveillance and secrecy eroding judgment and speeding failure.
• Exile removes incentives to perform belief; Garak sees when certainty is theater and when structures are irrational.

Federation procedure and its failure mode

• The Federation relies on deliberation, checks, and distributed accountability.
• In "Homefront," fear tightens rules through lawful steps; responsibility diffuses until the machinery enables abuse.
• Garak calibrates the Federation’s tolerance for uncertainty and which threats flip it into emergency logic.

Romulan discipline as a different constraint set

• The Romulan system assumes information is suspect until verified; caution is default, not a crisis response.
• In "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges," intelligence work and moral compromise are built-in mechanisms; the system stays consistent under stress.
• Garak works with Romulan predictability: it moves after an internally consistent conclusion forms, then defends that conclusion forcefully.

"In the Pale Moonlight" as the convergence point

• During the Dominion War, the Federation needs outcomes more than purity, the Romulans need actionable certainty, and Cardassians are primed for decisive moves.
• Garak supplies a conclusion each system can adopt without reopening debate.
• Once the interpretation becomes actionable, institutions protect it; reversal would admit internal misjudgment.
• Garak never needs to command anyone; he removes off-ramps so procedure, caution, and moral outsourcing point the same direction.

Takeaway

• The dangerous operator sits outside the chain of command: no title to revoke, no mandate to cancel, and no institution that can clearly hold him.
• Garak endures by reading systems at their limits and by shaping outcomes through ambiguity, timing, and constraint alignment.

This fucking court jester Magnifico, a character deliberately created to be out of place jarring grating and annoying. The twist at the very end logically explains it but doesn't change the fact I was reading 200 pages annoyed.

Psychohistory as a unreliable narrator, we have already established in the lore that selective omission of truth, and outright lying, are acceptable tools in Hari's toolbox... so is his crisis pep talk in error or is it exactly what they needed to see to do what he wanted? The lack of rigor in a "science" like psychohistory leads to a civilization with slave like mysticism

Regarding psionic programming as a human mutation: This is such a blunt narrative weapon that its reasonable it wasn't accounted for, but also in a galactic empire spanning thousands of years humanity will drift and become different genetically incompatible species, especially in the context of being isolated from each other.

On the other hand why does psychohistory care about humans evolving? Why does it have any opinion on genetic drift? While we are at it, in the context of foundation comparing back to the fall of the roman empire... the prediction is about another empire rising... we have no comparable empire in the world to rome, so we are still in the dark patch...

The pattern for each age appears to be those resisting change are blind to their folly and those embracing a new dynamic win, it would be fun to have a chapter on a moment when staying the course was the right method (i.e. all the time between the 75 year incidents).

• Carb hangover definition: a post-indulgence crash with fatigue, brain fog, ravenous hunger, bloating, cravings, mood swings, poor sleep, and sometimes joint aches or headache after more carbs (often sugar + ultra-processed food) than the keto baseline.
• Why it can hit hard after keto: after sustained keto, my metabolism is adapted to fat/ketones; sudden carbs force a fast fuel switch that can feel abrupt.
  • Mechanism 1 — insulin whiplash: low/stable insulin on keto shifts to a rapid glucose rise + insulin rise; an overshoot can lead to a reactive low with shakiness, hunger, anxiety, and strong carb cravings.
  • Mechanism 2 — glycogen refill + water shift: carbs refill liver/muscle glycogen; glycogen pulls water; the scale can jump 2–8 lb from water + glycogen + inflammation + food volume (plus sodium-related water), not overnight fat gain.
  • Mechanism 3 — gut microbiome shift: fewer fermentable carbs on keto can mean less gas/bloating; a carb-heavy meal (breads/sweets/sugar alcohols/processed foods) can trigger bloating, gas, cramps, reflux, and stool changes, especially for foods not eaten for months.
  • Mechanism 4 — inflammation signals: indulgences often bundle ultra-processed carbs with seed oils/additives/emulsifiers/high sugar; susceptible people can feel puffy, achy, headachy, or get skin flare-ups and tight rings.
  • Mechanism 5 — sleep disruption: big late meals, sugar swings, alcohol, reflux, and histamine-rich holiday foods can disrupt sleep; poor sleep then increases hunger hormones and cravings the next day.
  • Mechanism 6 — appetite + reward: processed carbs can reactivate “more” circuitry and dopamine-driven reward eating; “I wasn’t hungry, but I couldn’t stop” fits food engineering + biochemistry.
• Language and mindset: calling it a “cheat” can trigger “I failed, so keep going”; I treat it as a planned or unplanned indulgence with the same job afterward—return to baseline quickly and calmly, with no shame or punishment.
• Two-day keto reset protocol after an indulgence:
  • Step 1 — hydrate steadily: carbs shift water/electrolytes; aim for steady hydration, add electrolytes/sodium if tolerated, avoid late-night water chugging.
  • Step 2 — next bite is the reset: protein first, then fat, then everything else; start at the next meal with high-protein keto food, add fat for satiety, keep carbs low (examples: eggs+bacon+avocado; ground beef with salt and a little cheese if tolerated; salmon+butter+asparagus if using low-carb veg).
  • Step 3 — walk after meals: 10–20 minutes post-meal walking helps move glucose into muscle and reduce the spike; no intense exercise required.
  • Step 4 — 24 hours of clean keto: whole foods only; avoid “keto junk” and alcohol; focus on meat/eggs/fish/non-starchy veg if used/basic fats; goal is lower inflammation and stabilized appetite, not punishment.
  • Step 5 — optional short fast: if already comfortable fasting, a 12–16 hour overnight fast can help slide back into ketosis; if fasting causes obsession, shakiness, or binge-proneness, skip it.
  • Step 6 — salt + sleep: adequate salt can help after water shifts; prioritize sleep because sleep is hormonal therapy.
• The mistake that turns a detour into relapse: trying to “make up” with punishment (starving all day, over-exercising, harsh self-talk) increases stress, worsens sleep, increases cravings, and often leads to more overeating.
• Indulgence without a big price: the three-P rule.
  • Plan it: choose the event and the food that actually matters, not random breakroom donuts.
  • Protein buffer: eat protein earlier so you don’t arrive starving.
  • Portion with purpose: have a real serving, enjoy it, stop; treat it as celebration, not self-sabotage.
• Closing takeaway: the carb hangover is feedback about stability; learning the pattern (insulin swing, water retention, gut reaction, inflammation, sleepiness) reduces spiral power and supports metabolic health.

• The internet should work like the early web: people own their space, audience, and rules.
• Platforms replaced the web by taking ownership; the goal is to rebuild the web’s utility without surrendering control.
• Privacy is not about being unseen; IP addresses are observable; the goal is minimizing who must be trusted.
• Avoid building a new centralized service; publish open software so anyone can run servers; operators are replaceable.
• Build for the 99%: strong defaults and UX so security is not limited to experts and custom ROM users.

What SimpleX is building

• A messenger without user IDs; connections start via one-time links or QR codes.
• Messaging uses unidirectional message queues; each direction can use different relays.
• Each contact can use different relay servers; rotation limits correlation and reduces single-operator power.
• Relays route encrypted blocks and cannot enumerate users or social graphs.

From messenger to “next web”

• SimpleX extends into primitives: messaging, groups, channels, bots, and “sites”.
• Communities become user-owned spaces like websites: owners control content, moderation, and membership.
• Scaling model: many rooms and roles; a 100,000-member community should not be one chat.
• Target experience: Discord-like communities with far more owner and user control.

Decentralization and moderation realities

• Federated networks form clusters where admins own accounts and can coordinate policy and censorship.
• If a few percent of nodes are captured, randomized routing can still be forced into an attacker’s path.
• Better model: many independent operators with low individual visibility; users choose and can switch.

Metadata and transport privacy

• IP metadata is theoretically observable; Tor/VPN/mixnets change who can see it, not whether it exists.
• Padding sends fixed 16KB blocks so relays can’t infer content size or activity type.
• A relay sees counts, not contacts; 100 messages could be 1 or 100 recipients.
• Roadmap includes supporting alternative transports like I2P and mixnet-style routing.

Security engineering posture

• Deniability matters for casual conversation; OTR introduced practical repudiation and forward secrecy.
• Two security audits completed; recurring audits planned.
• Spam and abuse controls avoid identifiers; optional user addresses can be deleted or rotated.

Business and distribution constraints

• App stores gate distribution; sideloading and F-Droid matter for reach.
• Funding reality: privacy tech competes with products backed by 100x–500x more investment.
• B2B2C model: communities pay so members can be free; 80/20 traffic economics inform pricing.

References

• [00:00] SimpleX Chat — https://simplex.chat/
• [00:00] Signal Protocol — https://signal.org/docs/ [00:18] Nostr Protocol — https://github.com/nostr-protocol/nostr
• [00:49] Off-the-Record Communication, or, Why Not To Use PGP — https://doi.org/10.1145/1029179.1029200

Growth vs repair

• AMPK turns on when energy is low and tells cells to stop building and start repairing.
• mTOR turns on when food is abundant and tells cells to grow, build, and divide.
• Modern life keeps mTOR on all day through constant food, insulin, and growth signals, which crowds out repair.

What AMPK does when it is on

• AMPK is an energy sensor and rises with low cellular energy.
• Autophagy increases, and the cleanup program removes damaged proteins and dysfunctional mitochondria.
• It supports stress-response transcription factors (FOXO and NRF2) and suppresses inflammation.
• A 2012 paper links AMPK, mTOR, and ULK1 as a direct control point for autophagy initiation.

What chronic mTOR does

• mTOR is a growth and nutrient integrator (insulin, amino acids, calories).
• Short, meal-driven mTOR activation supports building, and chronic activation reduces cellular maintenance.

Ways to shift the switch toward repair

• Time between meals moves signaling toward AMPK.
• Lower insulin signaling reduces mTOR activation.
• Protein amount and amino-acid mix matter because amino acids (especially leucine) activate mTOR.

Drug examples in longevity narratives

• Rapamycin targets mTOR, and a 2009 Nature paper shows longer mouse lifespan even with later-life dosing.
• Larger mouse lifespan effects are shown at higher doses in later studies.
• In humans, rapamycin-class drugs are used for transplantation and have reproductive side effects in men and women.
• Metformin is an anti-diabetic drug tied to AMPK, and a Nature paper links metformin binding to PEN2, ATPase inhibition, and AMPK activation without ATP depletion.

Ketones and ketogenic diet signaling

• Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is a ketone that can activate AMPK and support autophagy.
• A Cells paper links BHB to the autophagic–lysosomal pathway and shows brain changes in mice on a ketogenic diet.

Bottom line

• Aging slows when the cell periodically shifts away from constant growth signaling and back toward repair and cleanup.

References

• [00:04] AMPK and mTOR regulate autophagy through direct phosphorylation of Ulk1 — https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb2152
• [00:08] Rapamycin fed late in life extends lifespan in genetically heterogeneous mice — https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08221
• [00:19] Low-dose metformin targets the lysosomal AMPK pathway through PEN2 — https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04431-8
• [00:20] Effect of the Ketone Body, D-β-Hydroxybutyrate, on Sirtuin2-Mediated Regulation of Mitochondrial Quality Control and the Autophagy–Lysosomal Pathway — https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12030486

• DS9 moves from episodic exploration to long-form politics.
• DS9 puts colonization, settler colonialism, and decolonization on-screen.
• Bajor: a spiritual, peace-leaning society after Cardassian rule.
• Cardassians: stiff, polite imperialists; empire dynamics in space.
• Ferengi: profit-first middlemen; an uneasy ethnic mashup in the metaphor.
• Dominion: persecuted shapeshifters become an expansionist state; cycles of harm.

Old Trek carries material critique; New Trek carries corporate "wokeness".

• Star Trek peaks in DS9 with postcolonial critique of imperial power.
• New Trek is written by elite-college pipelines and corporate shareholders.
• Starfleet Academy opens with loud messaging and weak craft.
• Kurtzman-led teams keep failing upward while the franchise falls.

Corporate "wokeness" is marketing skin over power.

• Fearless Girl looks like feminist defiance but works as fund advertising.
• The campaign promotes State Street's gender-diversity product (ticker: SHE).
• The statue is built for PR by McCann Worldgroup.
• Charging Bull is guerrilla art by Arturo Di Modica, dumped at the NYSE.
• Fearless Girl vs Charging Bull becomes a clean corporate story over a messy one.

Spectacle and recuperation hollow out radical culture.

• Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle targets culture under capitalism.
• Recuperation sterilizes subversive acts and sells them back as safe symbols.
• Protest slogans, 1960s counterculture, and early political hip hop get commodified.
• Star Trek goes through the same sterilization into corporate "wokeness".

Ownership explains the shift.

• Skydance is in Star Trek Into Darkness credits as a rising finance engine.
• Skydance bankrolls big franchises, then buys Paramount and the Star Trek library.
• David Ellison leverages Larry Ellison's Oracle wealth to consolidate Hollywood.
• Control of CBS News tightens; stories get spiked to fit owners' tastes.

The missing future.

• Star Trek's radical idea: no billionaires; wealth is shared for human flourishing.
• New Trek talks emotional safety and dodges billionaires because billionaires pay.
• While billionaires own Star Trek, Star Trek never becomes woke again.

References

• [00:17] Paramount closes merger with Skydance — https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/paramount-closes-8-billion-merger-with-skydance-after-settling-60-minutes-2025-08-07/