In Rainbows End, it's hard to find people who aren't manipulating each other, even if they're manipulating each other for altruistic reasons.
Miri is totally manipulating Robert Gu, but she's doing so to help him get more used to the future world. And in order to do that, she has to manipulate Zulfikar Sharif into interviewing him; and she has to recruit Juan into teaching him; and she has to get Lena and Xiu to cooperate.
Or take Alfred: he just wants to save the world, so he has to manipulate Braun and Mitsuri so they don't discover his plan; and he has to manipulate Rabbit, etc. Even Louise Chumlig manipulates Juan and Robert into working together. It seems like manipulation is a part of most relationships.
Questions About Manipulation
- Are there any characters that do more manipulating than others? Are there characters that are better at manipulating than others? Is there anything that connects the best manipulators?
- Does Rainbows End teach us how to manipulate people in our current world? Or is most of the manipulation technological?
- Who is best at spotting manipulation? Rabbit? Robert? Someone else with a similar name? What makes them so good at spotting manipulation?
- How do the characters respond when they realize they're being manipulated?
Chew on This
In Rainbows End, manipulation is like any other tool or technology: it can be used for good or evil.
People are only open to manipulation when they have selfish goals in Rainbows End.