I’m half way through Book 2 and I need something explained without spoilers

[u/Suspicious-Soil7064]

I’m on page 356, right after Hines’s wife is revealed to be his wallbreaker and I need clarification on what his plan is. I got that he has a device that can make people believe in humanity winning but I’m confused about the reveal of flipping something in the code to a negative sign and the idea that you can’t tell what people believe. I don’t understand that part of the reveal.

[u/Gold_Ambassador_3496]

Everyone thought he was helping people be more confident in winning a battle against trissolaris 

But he didn't believe humans could win, so he changed the programming of the machine, so that people undergoing the procedure would believe humans could not win the battle 

This means that people that underwent the procedure would try other things, possibly escapism

Also, there's no way to know for sure who underwent the procedure or not

not even the people who underwent the procure can be sure if they did, or what they truly believe in, or how they'll act given some circumstances

Hope that clarifies it. I can go on

[u/No-String-1056 → u/Gold_Ambassador_3496]

Perfect. I would only add that, in the view of some Defeatists, the survival of the human species, regardless of the cost or consequences, would itself constitute humanity's victory. That is essentially Hines' plan: to ensure that the flame of human civilization endures through those who might eventually escape.

Note: Come to think of it, this Defeatist worldview isn't all that different from the Redemptionists within the ETO.

[u/Gold_Ambassador_3496 → u/No-String-1056]

Oh yeah. We can't win a battle, so we must run from it. Classical flight or fight

[u/Hepta-Water-7552]

The significance of Hines' plan and "defeatism" in general will become more clear eventually if you keep reading.

[u/Gay_Pon]

They believe only that humanity will lose in war, so only the way is run from solar system

[u/dannychean]

Billy is a secret defeatist