Throughout the novel, Maximus’s totalitarian regime derives its power from its near-total control of knowledge and information. In the Heart—the seemingly privileged center of the empire—Maximus’s surveillance cameras and spy network see nearly everything that happens. If Greyson hesitates for even a split second before executing a prisoner, this hesitation is noticed and punished, almost as if Maximus can read his son’s mind from afar. Any effective resistance thus depends on keeping secrets from the regime, as Greyson believes he does, for example, by smuggling medicine to under-resourced hospitals in the boundary.

Maximus’s surveillance state undermines trust and makes it difficult for resistance movements to organize. By constantly watching his citizens and encouraging them to report on one another, he creates a panoptic effect—which, as political theorist Michel Foucault notes, encourages constant “good behavior,” as individuals never know when they are being watched. Greyson doesn’t know that he can trust even his closest friends—which means that he keeps his smuggling a secret from Lira and Callum, who, unbeknownst to him, are organizing their own rebellions. This secrecy limits their effectiveness. Greyson, alone, can only smuggle so much medicine to the outer circles, as he must oversee every step of the process himself. When he includes his friends in his activities, he can resist more effectively; Callum’s network is especially valuable, as it connects with many significant players in the rebel groups.

The resistance becomes more effective when its scattered members begin to share secrets and work together. Jameson encourages Kestrel, from the Cardinal, to share her intel with Boundary rebels, then seeks an alliance with the dangerous Daggermouths. In the Heart, where secrecy is even more paramount due to constant surveillance, Greyson must learn to trust his closest friends and allies with his secrets. This sharing of information augments the rebels’ power, but at significant risk, as the end of the novel highlights. The unified rebellion is the one that fails; because Brooker has infiltrated the Cardinal rebels as a double agent on his father’s behalf, every piece of information that Callum and Lira share with their newfound allies ultimately ends up in Maximus’s hands. By placing a spy within the rebel ranks, Maximus siphons power (in the form of information) out of their hands and into his. The rebels are detained en masse. Callum is killed, and the fate of the revolution overall is unknown at the end of the novel. Lira’s rebellion, however, which she kept secret from even her allies, is the one that actually takes Maximus by surprise. Lira has kept her information entirely to herself, and this choice both limits and safeguards her power. Elara, too, has no allies in her role as the Python, and she keeps her plans entirely to herself during the long decades that she suffers Maximus’s abuse. However, this secrecy serves her well; in the novel’s cliffhanger ending, she takes advantage of her underestimation and succeeds in killing her husband where the other attempts on his life have been unsuccessful.