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I know the Commandant. I divined at once what he was after. Although he is powerful enough to take measures against me, he doesn’t dare to do it yet, but he certainly means to use your verdict against me, the verdict of an illustrious foreigner.

Midway through the story the Officer describes the motivations of the new Commandant when he’s confronted with the judgment of a foreigner in his midst. The Officer understands his time and practices are under scrutiny and even attack by the new Commandant who currently holds power and has revealed that he does not support the former Commandant’s system. The quick shift in power from one leader to the next demonstrates how quickly systems can rise and fall. With just one change in leadership, the old way of operating can be upended. With such a change, the people who support and believe in the old ways, such as the Officer, must either change or fight. The Officer’s attempts to convince the Traveler to support the old system, which includes flattery, show that he’s unwilling to embrace the new Commandant’s ideology. His resistance also emphasizes the desperation with which people cling to what they know and are familiar with.

This procedure and method of execution, which you are now having the opportunity to admire, has at the moment no longer any open adherents in our colony. I am its sole advocate, and at the same time the sole advocate of the old Commandant’s traditions.

Midway through the story, the Officer laments the lack of open support for his methods in the colony when confronted with the Traveler’s judgment. The lack of support from anyone in the colony shows how fickle people are in their advocacy for and backing of old ways that have fallen out of favor. Elsewhere in the story, the Officer speaks nostalgically about the audiences that used to gather to witness executions, but he acknowledges that now he is the sole advocate of the old system. Although he speculates that there are those who would support the old ways if they weren’t afraid, the implication is that it was the draconian nature of the old Commandant and the fear he inspired that compelled people to support his policies rather than any genuine belief in them. The Officer is not only the only person still supporting the old Commandant, he is also very aware of this fact, implying that there has been vocal opposition to the old system and support for the new Commandant and his practices.

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