Conversation · Encyclopedia

That isn't just a five-pointed star -- it's an inverted white pentagram cradled in a wreath of antlers. The iconography of communism, in other words.

Inspect the symbol closer.

The star-and-antlers was developed in the sixth decade of the last century and quickly adopted by Mazov and the communards during the Revolution...

Even today, half a century after, the star-and-antlers retains the ability to evoke hope, disappointment, and fear in equal measure.

What does it evoke in me? [Finish thought.]

Gone. Gone is the glory. Of hope, only the scribblings of impoverished students remain. In dirty hallways...

You are the Big Communism Builder now. It's you or no one.

You see noble aims but also mountains upon mountains of corpses. They should've taken a more measured approach. Also, you're really smart.

The price of idealism unrestrained by humanism. Never again.

Communism is the ideology of gutless intellectuals and clueless university students. They don't care about the real wörking man.

In other words, it doesn't mean a thing to trüe Revacholians.

Smug superiority? Esthetic musings? The triumph of Capital is undeniable, but... maybe the guns were sort of cool? Revolutionaries had loads of guns.

Whatever kid drew this graffito will get it one day. You just can't beat FREEDOM and hustle-jiggling all the time.

Nothing at all yet. Right now it's just meaningless shapes on a wall.

Why is the star upside down?

To symbolize the toppling of the old order.

Also, some social democrats were already using it.

What's the deal with the antlers?

The wreath of antlers represents a natural crown. It was about building a society that could exist in accord with the natural world -- and at the same time above it.

Why white?

Because white is the colour of peace.

[Discard thought.]

"Look out, Kim: There are communists around here."

"I'll keep my Armistice handy, detective."

He doesn't actually reach for his gun.