When a family who passionately feels everything gets into a squabble, worlds tend to fall. And in the 15th installment of Joshua Dysart’s “Imperium†it seems that Toyo Harada and Livewire are taking their “father-daughter†disagreement to an uncomfortable and high lethal level. The HARD Corps, a team created to rid the world of Harada alongside Livewire aren’t exactly working for the greater good. The conglomeration that they work for are just as destructive as Harada. The only exception being that the greatest psiot on the planet, though misguided, at least has a moral center. Which brings his enemies to the point of attempting to put Band-Aids on open wounds. Still Harada is so far ahead of those who are trying to destroy him that he’s recapping. The only thing keeping him from annihilating everyone who crosses him is Livewire.
As a young girl Amanda saw a man who understood that the lives of people are just coded experiences. Yes, people do have emotions and may feel things deeply to the point of making connections and family ties, but in the end they are all programmed to live out their lives in a certain way. This philosophy gets rocked as Livewire confronts the sentient machine on Harada’s team. Though she doesn’t question that her mentor should be stopped, Livewire does have to reexamine her methods. Does ridding the world of Harada’s tyrannical behavior mean that it will be a better place? Or will it fold in on itself as a result of all the imbalances it has had to fight against? Worst yet, a greater evil may take Harada’s place. The void may be too great for anyone to handle and where would that leave the Valiant universe?
As crazed as it may seem the world needs and may even deserve Toyo Harada. In defeating him you have to face the possibility that perhaps the planet as they know it would be in a chaotic state where no one would survive. Who’s going to keep the major baddies in check? Harada’s despotic ways may be the most viable alternative to protecting the people living on this swirling mud-ball. From the outside looking in all Livewire is thinking about is get rid of Harada and she’ll figure the rest out later. But as with any literary tragedy worth its salt it would never be that simple.
Dysart has propelled his readers into a conundrum. You tend to root for Harada, unknowingly or perhaps unwilling to understand why. For many reading this issue the cause is that you may see a little of Harada in yourselves. Despot he may be at least he knows who he is. His one downfall, what he believes his one fault is would be his love and admiration of his “daughter.†If he doesn’t stop taking fatherly pride in Livewire’s plans to eliminate him, she may succeed in bringing the Valiant world to an end.
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