Benjamin Russell

*"If you're not going to be willing to say it how it is, or admit when things are going wrong, then what right do you have to tell others how to do things? And in the same vein, if you're not willing to do something that others may see as horrific, then how can the people trust you to lead them through hard times? Sometimes, you have to curb freedoms in order to keep the peace." Integrity and Responsibility - Title of a podcast where Ben (Under his IE persona) was a prominent talker.*

A seemingly unimportant civilian, Ben Russell is in reality the infamous Imperialist Egalitarian, who has been broadcasting about the faults in believing that egalitarianism is better in all ways than authoritarianism. Rather, he believes that both have a place in a government. It's good to give freedoms, but he also thinks that sometimes, freedoms need to be revoked if it's for the good of everyone.

He's garnered support from all manners of people, especially those who support authoritarianism, but at the same time has taken some flak from people who think he's just being a hypocrite.

He has contacts all throughout the Commonwealth, and maybe the galaxy. Most of them reside in the GCN, but he does have a few friends in high places who leak intel to him, with the intent to have him spin it in a manner that works in favor of the Commonwealth's goals.

### Early Life

Hardly anyone knows much about his early years. All that's known for certain is that he was born on Ortus, but that's all. Not all that much is known about him overall, other than that he can get riled up when there's an issue he has a steadfast opinion on.

### The Rise to Infamy

At first, he wasn't that prominent. Simply someone who had a different opinion and wanted to express it. But when he gave a scathing criticism of the Commonwealth's bureaucracy wanting to blame General Aspinaca for the FUBAR situation on Voice, and also took a potshot at Ishii for putting the matter of the Vrinn up on a public vote, he suddenly become infamous. He advocated freedom, but also advocated for a sort of pseudo-imperialism. He wanted everyone to have a choice in things, but also wanted the government to railroad when need be. Thus he got the alias of "The Imperialist Egalitarian" for his oxymoronic views. And, surprisingly, it's caused egalitarians and authoritarians to sit down and discuss with one another to figure out compromises. As much as some higher ups may think he's causing divides, he's been doing quite the opposite.

### Dropping a Bombshell

After a while, he came out with another anvil of a broadcast. In this one, he revealed that the Biluan Hivemind, was formerly not a hivemind. Rather, they were driven to that in desperation when they were attacked by none other than the Zracon. In addition to that, he revealed Zracon sleeper agents infiltrated the Commonwealth, but reassured that the government was working on it. He proceeded to turn the potential panic in a vengeful anger, and he called for a decisive war against the Zracon to conquer them, and ensure they can no longer do damage such as this anymore. Reportedly, war support was much higher than expected by the time the Commonwealth decided to consider it.

### Lucky Break

When the mass attacks against high-ranking officials commenced, Ben wasn't ignored. His home, which doubled as his broadcasting area, was attacked by assassins. One of them managed to deliver a light cut to his shoulder, but then he proceeded to gun them all down. He might be more frail than most, but he's smart and quick. Time spent playing video games has trained his reflexes to the point where he can win a fight even when ambushed. Still, he couldn't stay, and quickly went to Curacao, where he waited for a pickup by GCN to get to a safehouse before he's discovered.