However, I tend to think that Alfarus is, indeed, a fanatical true believer. However, he is a very practical sort of fanatic - everything that advances the cause is fine, including compromises on principle.
I think that unless a person is completely bereft of curiosity, there's no way that they can establish a whole new political system and just not care about its ideas on any level. Maybe someone who comes along later, who's learned to recite the lines but thinks they're all bunk anyways, can be that way. But for the person who writes the lines that later generations recite, I don't think there's any way that the riddles of governance by the Sanchezic Law are not going to interest Alfarus at least on the level of a good crossword or something.
Also, if he was a hypocrite hoping to ride a political movement to power, why would he join the
Societists? It took the fiasco of Monterroso's rule to actually make them a competitive political movement, and their victory didn't really become assured until the uncovering of megacorp trade secrets. Seems like he would have just linked up with the Mentians if he didn't care about ideology from the start. But then again he might have done exactly that, and jumped to the Societists during Vibora. We'll never know...
EDIT: Come to think of it, I wonder if his advocacy of the Olajus tests was exactly that sort of "compromise". Maybe he knew the tests were dumb and fully expected (and hoped for) them to be overhauled after his death. But
until that day, he needs to show he's unequivocally the Boss. He needs to build a certain reputation and leadership style. So he intentionally adopts an irrational position and challenges people to call him out, which they won't unless they're asking for trouble. Allies like Lupus who might otherwise fancy themselves as "having the Kapud's ear" are reminded that Alfarus can take or ignore their advice, no matter how sensible, as he pleases. People like Romerus who can't take the hint get punished so harshly that no one else would think of using
evidence (especially evidence derived on fallible human memory/testimony and not the truths of the Biblioteka!) in arguments with Alfarus ever again.
No one knows the Boss's mind but the Boss. No use trying to predict or manipulate him. He is beyond your comprehension. If he likes you then just keep doing what you're doing and if he doesn't... you'll know.
