u/plasmastriked

"Perhaps one will only learn to cherish things after they lost them." - Klein Moretti Chapter 29

People be doubting but I see the vision

Honestly, Mr. Moon kinda deserves a bit of slander for having the abilities of a beast tamer and not having a beyonder pet

Klein's line from the end of Chapter 387 is a reference to L'Internationale, a historical French anthem associated with collective empowerment and revolution. The original quote is "There are no supreme saviors, neither God, nor Caesar, nor tribune." is supposed to be a triumphant declaration of how the masses, when unified, can liberate themselves from oppression without the need of assistance from divine authority(God), Political Rulers(Caesar), or governing bodies(tribune).

Through his observations of the harsh conditions of East Borough and interviews with Old Kohler. Klein considers the idea of the common people unifying together to fight for a better future much like the revolutions of our world. However, Klein dismisses this possibility, recognizing that in this world oppression is not just maintained through economic and political control, but also from supernatural powers. The existence of Beyonders, Sealed artifacts, and Demigods cause power to be distributed in a way that not even high numbers can overcome disrupting the ideals preached in L'Internationale.

Even if the poor were to organize, arm themselves, and rise up, they would still face an "unstoppable counterattack” from Beyonder forces as Klein describes. Moreover, the fundamental laws of mysticism also directly reinforces this inequality. Laws such as Beyonder Characteristics Conservation and Convergence mean that Beyonder potions cannot be mass produced and shared among the people unlike technology, and that the Potions will stay mostly in hands of few powerful organizations. Thus, Klein's line "There Are No Supreme Saviors” transforms the original meaning of L'Internationale's to something much more tragic. The masses cannot rely on a savior, but neither can they realistically save themselves.

Even in a world with supreme beings such as the orthodox deities, who have the power to end suffering, yet they are not benevolent saviors. The deities are distant and mostly indifferent to the lives of their believers outside their function as anchors. Thus, the only thing that incites change is catastrophe and fear of an evil god’s descent. However, the masses also cannot rely on evil gods because the corruption and destruction they may bring far outweigh the suffering they might alleviate. "What wonderful irony." as Klein puts it.

I don't really have a conclusion, I just wanted to highlight chapters 387-388, an extremely underrated part of the novel which highlights the primary themes of LOTM and also Klein's character.