A rebel Mascen has a broken relationship with the universe; an existentialist he searches for a way to reassert the importance of human individuality and freedom. This frequently brings him into conflict with the state as he seeks ways to circumvent the unmitigable control and intentional distortion of reality by powerful anonymous bureaucrats.

"Far better it is to dare the mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat"