government-by-experimenters

The chapter depicts the annual Russian Roulette Party in Da Vinci Crater, where administrative roles are assigned by lottery to encourage participation in governance despite widespread political apathy among the scientific community. Sax reflects on the tension between the scientific mindset and political engagement, the polyarchic system of distributed power on Mars, and the emergence of a bureaucratic class of experts who govern by experiment. The narrative also touches on recent advances in fusion propulsion technology and the political dominance of Free Mars, suggesting that technological breakthroughs could disrupt existing power structures.