Language Control is Thought Control

We see the Thalmor often compared the the Nazis, a tired, and inaccurate simile. The Thalmor only have as much in common with the Nazis as the Nazis had in common with any totalitarian regime.

What I would like to explore today is the Altmer’s, particularly the Aldmeri Dominion’s, approach to apotheosis, and how their methods compare those we find in 1984.

This piece is one that has been in the back of my mind since I posted An Atheist Anuad, when commentators mentioned that the Aedra and Daedra are literal fact.

We do have creation interpretations that do not involve Aedra and Daedra. The Yokudan mythology has parallels to the Anuad, but is quite distinct. The Khajiit have some personalities in common with the Altmer pantheon, but divisions between the spirits and the litters is not the same. The Tsaesci myth is a further removal, not really using any anthropomorphic personalities, leaving the reader to infer commonalities between creation stories.

However, because the Anuad is what most of our first experiences with the creation myth of Nirn was, and because of the role of Altmer culture in the games and other major events in the lore, even in our discussions here, we are tainted with an Altmeri bias.

By controlling the story of the Gods, the Aldmeri Dominion can control the practice of religion, through which they can control culture, language and eventually thought.

This is why they want to ban Talos worship. He is a human God that does not fit in with their vision for Elven unification and collective will. It is through this mechanism that they hope to reach apotheosis.

In 1984, they pared British culture down to a crude shadow of its former greatness. First they manipulated the news, then history, then the vocabulary.

They wanted nothing so crude as to crush the opposition through torture and murder (though they clearly were not above it); ideally, the solution was much more elegant. They would make opposition simply unthinkable.

They wanted their reality to be the only possible outcome.

The Altmer are taking a similar approach, trying to unify the people of Tamriel, pare away dissonance and dissent, focus everyone on the task of attaining not just divinity, but their definition of divinity.

The Dominion’s approach is more of a “We ate them so they could become us and there are no more variations” approach, as opposed to the Tsaesci.

In a scrap of comic that was released last month (text no art), a Thalmor agent in the 9^th or 10^th era refers to a Khajiit as a “kinsmer”.

The appelation of kin between non-relatives hearkens to a plethora of religious orders, as well as communist-style dictatorships. It breaks down individual identities and confers a common identity and purpose. The Thalmor was not just being friendly and compassionate, he was denying the individual identity, and the Khajiit-ness of the Khajiit in question.

Rather than each individual achieving CHIM through trial and enlightenment; they are trying to teach it through propaganda and thought control. In the 4^th era, they need to use brute force to begin the paring down of variation on Tamriel, but after Landfall, it is possible that violence is no longer required to convince the people to follow. People may be more willing to renounce their individual opinions and beliefs in exchange for what is perceived as safety, security and leadership.

Okay I am super sick, and have rewritten this like 7 times today. I’m going to leave this at that and end on this quote from 1984

Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.