This year, I'm moving closer to the subjects that disturb. And if they disturb it's not because I'm provocative. It's just because they expose the mechanics of power.
As I told you in the previous letter, in 2026 I'm going to focus on systems, structures, architectures.
As a consequence, I'll be less active on social medias. The newsletter continues, that doesn't change. What changes is the level of depth.
I will focus on subjects that operate where responsibility dissolves, where action becomes unavowable.
And this is where mercenaries appear...
TL;DR
1- What are mercenaries, really?
2- Language as the first layer of denial
3- Bastards, is the word I use
4- What are cognitive mercenaries (the invisible layer)
5- Intelligence: from institution to market
6- Why I decided to talk about this now
7- Conclusion: the mercenary is the system's mirror
It's strange: mercenaries are everywhere...
They are heroes in our movies, central figures in our myths, and yet, in reality, they are perpetually despised.
The most recognizable symptom of a system that can no longer sustain itself is this: mercenaries become visible.
So what are mercenaries, really?
At its core, mercenarism is nothing more than an externalized function of sovereignty: violence, coercion, intelligence, control.
Core sovereign functions, exercised outside the official moral, legal, and symbolic framework of the State - or the King - yet still in service of those who retain power.
When a system functions properly, it does not need mercenaries. When it starts to fail, three fractures appear simultaneously.
Legitimacy collapses.
The state can no longer openly assume certain actions. They are too costly politically. Too visible. Too... dirty.
Loyalty erodes.
Internal institutions no longer obey blindly. Too many rules, too much oversight, too many leaks.
Responsibility dissolves.
Action must occur without trace, without a clear chain of command. Acting while denying having acted. At that point, the mercenary becomes the logical solution.
Not an anomaly, but truly a structural patch.
It's important to understand that mercenaries are not a sign of an anarchic world.
They are quite the opposite. They are the sign of a hyper-controlled yet deeply fragile system that can no longer bear its own weight.
The system whispers:
“I cannot do this myself anymore. Do it for me. I will pay you well... And I will look away!”
Language as the first layer of denial
Before understanding mercenarism, one must look at language. Vocabulary is the first camouflage.
"Respectable" names
These are institutionalized terms designed to preserve the illusion that nothing abnormal is happening:
- Private Military Contractor (PMC)
- Security contractor
- Defense Services Provider
- Risk management company
Names like Wagner Group or Blackwater (now renamed Academi) come to mind. The function remains the same, the language is sanitized.
Technical terms
Here, moral weight is removed entirely: operator, asset, field operative, strategic consultant, third-party actor.
This is the vocabulary of intelligence briefings, security assessments, legal documents. Humans disappear, only capabilities remain.
Informal names
Among insiders, the fiction collapses: handler, fixer, cleaner, guns for hire.
The function is acknowledged, no moral narrative required.
I use a more accurate word: the bastards.
A bastard is someone born outside official recognition: outside lineage, inheritance, narrative.
Mercenaries are exactly that, the bastards of the system: unrecognized, unbadged. Without official transmission or insignia. No one want them.
Yet, they structurally allow everything else to hold.
I once wrote about bastard spies, intelligence operators without flag, agency, or title. The people with no place in the official story of the world.
Like children born out of wedlock: they are not the problem.
The refusal to recognize them is the symptom.
Cognitive mercenaries: the invisible layer
The public mostly sees armed mercenaries, the visible, kinetic version. But today, the most strategic layer is elsewhere.