May SF/F Book Study: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

This is probably my favorite Heinlein, but lately I've been rethinking elements of it.

Let me start by saying that Mike is probably the AI I most enjoyed as a character bar none. So when I first read this book as a teenager I was really bummed out at his death.

Looking back on it with writerly experience, I'm more annoyed because I think Mike's death is a cheat. Heinlein created Mike as, amongst other things a plot device to make Luna's rebellion possible. Without Mike controlling the revolution and privy to all the government intel, not to mention accessing the systems themselves, Luna would still be a prison colony by the end of the book.

But, looking at the subtext, Heinlein seems to be exploring what people do when they make their own governments. Manuel and the Professor's disappointments at the lack of Libertarianism in the new government are palpable.

But suppose Mike had survived. What role would the AI have in this new government? What would Mike's practical power over Luna do to the parable in this story?

That element would get in the way. So Mike had to go. As I say, this now feels like a cheat. Put in the AI to make the revolution possible, remove it so it has no part in the rebellion.

Amazon has it. So does Powells.com.