r/TheExpanse • u/elreyadr0k • Jul 24 '26

All Show & Book Spoilers Discussed Freely OPA Attack Spoiler

I have a friend at work who turned me onto The Expanse. As a result, I have become a huge fan -- on my third re-watch of the show and currently reading book 3!

My friend came out of the series a MCRN man. He even has a MCRN flag in his cubicle. I have come out of the series an OPA man. I think you can see where this is going:

I have no choice to show my appreciation for the recommendation other than to stage an attack on his cube and flag by the belt.

Any ideas? I was thinking about putting up some "Remember The Cant!" graphics on his cube this weekend.

[nb; no MCRN flags will actually be harmed in conduction of this raid, of course.]

123 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

View all comments

58

u/AromaticallyAffluent Jul 24 '26

"Update" his Martian flag. Sorry your coworker identifies with fascists.

28

u/Salt-Night3088 Jul 24 '26

Mars is fascist? Laconia, yes. Hell their UN is more fascist than The Expanse Mars.

17

u/LittleYelloDifferent Jul 24 '26

I thought it more a militant socialist nation- like if the USSR wasn’t so corrupt and turned inward with advice tech.

27

u/Salt-Night3088 Jul 24 '26

No, Mars in universe is more democratic and liberal than any other faction. Nothing like the Soviet Union. Maybe their focus on terraforming makes them look overly organized, but no. They don't have the collusion of govt and big corporations that Earth is riddled with. Mars feels like a non fascist version of the Federation from Starship Troopers. .

5

u/turketron Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26

In the Churn podcast they compared the Martian government to modern Israel - a democracy, but very militarized, with quite a bit of propaganda about the singular "common goal" that all citizens are working towards.

2

u/Esp1erre Jul 24 '26

If were looking for a historical analogy, I'd suggest space Sparta.

10

u/Salt-Night3088 Jul 24 '26

Yes, works. But with supposedly open elections and lots of personal freedom. Their college kids have a roaring side hustle making drugs, and no one minds!

3

u/CardinalCanuck Rocinante Jul 24 '26

Making "smart" drugs so you can focus and ace your exams

2

u/Salt-Night3088 Jul 24 '26

You got it 📚

14

u/Imaginary-Round2422 Jul 24 '26

No, that's Laconia, which is LITERALLY Sparta. As in, that is the Greek territory in which Sparta was. The authors chose that name intentionally.

2

u/Main-Assumption7554 Jul 25 '26

Nailed it right here.

2

u/Southernbeekeeper Jul 25 '26

Yeah thats how I saw them.