Re: "Starter Villain" by John Scalzi

Mike Van Pelt wrote:

In article <off12k52ohmjaq946ba6748qmnpj9r9b0b@4ax.com>,
Paul S Person  <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:

It wasn't just the royals. They made being an aristrocrat (there
may have been some conditions) a capital crime.

 They murdered some top notch scientists who happened to have
been born into the aristocracy.  Lavosier being a famous example.
 

But Lavoisier was killed because he was a tax farmer.  This eclipsed his various contributions to public health and safety as tax farmers as a class were deeply hated, and, possibly more important, their considerable  wealth could be  confiscated.
A warning to time travelers who get stuck in the past.  Do not become a tax farmer if there's even a suspicion of revolution in the air. Historically, this has not worked out well.
William Hyde