## Unsong Interlude ר: The Shrouded Constitution

* Author: u/gamarad  *LessWrong (than usual)**
* URL: http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A8-the-shrouded-constitution/
* Score: 36

* Created: 2017-01-19T06:02:32

### Post:

[Link to content](http://unsongbook.com/interlude-%D7%A8-the-shrouded-constitution/)

### Comments:

> **u/TheUtilitaria** [+14]  (7 hours later)
> 
> >The libertarians had made freedom unbearable, the evangelicals had made faith unbearable, the social justice movement had made equality unbearable, the lawyers had made justice unbearable, loud people in Uncle Sam hats had made patriotism unbearable, and the entirety of capitalism over the last two centuries had made industry unbearable. Americans were sick of all the virtues and ready for a straightforward, no-nonsense villain.
> 
> 👌

> **u/waylandertheslayer** [+6]  (6 hours later)
> 
> I've gotta say, these political background posts are super interesting. I don't actually know all that much about the history of US politics (since I'm not from the US) but I've been sort of reading along with the Unsong posts on Wikipedia and I've learned a fair bit.

>> **u/Frommerman** [+11]  (13 hours later)
>> 
>> Dick Cheny in real life shot his best friend in the face and got his friend to apologize. The only reason I wouldn't believe the things attributed to him in this story is because magic doesn't exist in the real world. He'd totally do all of that otherwise.

>>> **u/alexanderwales** [+3]  *Time flies like an arrow* (20 hours later)
>>> 
>>> Note that the heart thing is true(ish) in our world. Cheney had an LVAD, which replaced his heartbeat with a soft hum and left him without a pulse, though they didn't actually remove his heart.

>>>> **u/Frommerman** [+3]  (20 hours later)
>>>> 
>>>> Heh, I didn't know he has an LVAD. He's actually a heartless bastard.

>>>>> **u/Evan_Th** [+1]  *Sunshine Regiment* (3 days later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> AFAIK, his parents were married when he was born.  ^;)

>> **u/monkyyy0** [+3]  (9 hours later)
>> 
>> >I don't actually know all that much about the history of US politics (since I'm not from the US)
>> 
>> I dont think most Americans do either

> **u/ZeroNihilist** [+5]  (10 hours later)
> 
> I looked up "Shroudies" in the rest of the story and only two other chapters use the word. Knowing that it refers to government agents doesn't exactly cause a radical change in the interpretation of those chapters.
> 
> Here are the excerpts:
> 
> > “So a low-level magician has gone terrorist,” said Ronald. “Killed a Senator. Embarrassing. Certainly something we have to condemn. But by making such a big deal of this, we just reinforce our link to him in the public mind. We should have put out a statement distancing ourselves, sent someone over to the Shroudies to help them catch him, and ignored it.”
> 
> > [...]
> 
> > “Better send the Shroudies,” said Mark. “I’m telling you, things involving Dylan Alvarez are always hard.”
> 
> > [...]
> 
> > “Dylan, you killed Senator Henderson with a letterbomb, two days after the Shroudies assigned him a personal bomb squad to search through all his mail. How did you even do that?”
> 
> > “You think I can’t pull off a convincing Shroudie if I want to?”
> 
> > [...]
> 
> > “Look, Dylan, it’s not that I don’t have – good memories of our times together. It’s just – after what happened with Senator Henderson, and now everything that’s happened here tonight – everyone is after you. The police, the Shroudies – heck, maybe even UNSONG. And – well, like I said. I’ve got a wife and kids. No,” said Mark, finally. “I’m not a terrorist. Kill me if you will.” And he dropped his staff on the ground and held up his hands.
> 
> - [Chapter 8: Laughing To Scorn Thy Laws And Terrors](http://unsongbook.com/chapter-8-laughing-to-scorn-thy-laws-and-terrors/)
> 
> > “We’ve had a good couple of days. Ms. Lowry here has given us a very new Name, so new the Shroudies don’t know it exists, that lets us become invisible. Mr. McCarthy here is one of the top ritual magicians in the world and will be a stupendous boon to our efforts. So I decided – why not think big? We’ve already killed a president; killing another would be boring. But Ms. Lowry’s sudden appearance has me feeling all Stevensite. So let’s kill the head of UNSONG, who also happens to be the only halfway-competent leader the organization has had in its twenty-something-year history. Let’s free the Names.”
> 
> - [Chapter 53: Lover Of Wild Rebellion](http://unsongbook.com/chapter-53-lover-of-wild-rebellion/)

>> **u/Arancaytar** [+5]  (15 hours later)
>> 
>> I don't know what I based this on, but I've mentally translated it as "Fed" at least since the Shrouded Constitution was first mentioned.

>> **u/696e6372656469626c65** [+3]  *I think, therefore I am pretentious.* (11 hours later)
>> 
>> ...I do not remember these uses of the word at *all*.

>>> **u/ZeroNihilist** [+2]  (11 hours later)
>>> 
>>> I didn't either, I had to google it (I generally use `site:unsongbook.com`in the query and then manually check them).

>>>> **u/___ratanon___** [+2]  *Holy, holy is the lord of /etc/hosts* (16 hours later)
>>>> 
>>>> [Why Google?](http://unsongbook.com/?s=shroudie)

>>>>> **u/ZeroNihilist** [+1]  (a day later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> I had no idea the site had a search feature. Is there a search bar that I'm not seeing (maybe requiring logging in or something) or is it just through the query string in the URL?

>>>>>> **u/___ratanon___** [+2]  *Holy, holy is the lord of /etc/hosts* (a day later)
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> There isn't. I just guessed it (it's common in WordPress) and made it a search keyword in my browser.

>> **u/None** [+3]  (a day later)
>> 
>> Bizarrely, Chapter 8 takes place *before* the Constitution was shrouded.

>>> **u/___ratanon___** [+3]  *Holy, holy is the lord of /etc/hosts* (2 days later)
>>> 
>>> Yeah. Given that most other non-Uriel anachronisms have been fixed after being discovered, I'd assume this one is just a mistake too.
>>> 
>>> But I mean, how do these things even happen? Scott is supposed to be an [experienced con-worlder](https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/04/15/things-i-learned-by-spending-five-thousand-years-in-an-alternate-universe/). If I were to think up an alternative universe of such depth, writing down a chronological list of events and laws of physics/metaphysics — to obsessively consult later in order to weed out inconsistencies — would be the *first thing* I'd do.

>>>> **u/nerdguy1138** [+1]  *GNU Terry Pratchett* (5 days later)
>>>> 
>>>> Am I spoiling the hell out of myself by reading this before the story?

>>>>> **u/___ratanon___** [+1]  *Holy, holy is the lord of /etc/hosts* (8 days later)
>>>>> 
>>>>> My comment or the SSC link? I don't think either is too much of a spoiler. Scott's past writing contains some broad themes that also appear in Unsong, but the connections are rather loose.

> **u/NotACauldronAgent** [+3]  *Probably* (14 hours later)
> 
> Hey! It's a cameo from Hard Questions! Antichrist sword, go!

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