In order to build an evil empire, one must be able to build. To build things that are robust and long lasting requires the carefully honed skill of the master. Mastery is required if one is to become an effective supervillain. It is important to develop a deep knowledge and mastery over the tools required for one’s schemes. It will enable self-sufficiency and self-reliance in an age where convenience is traded for control.

The contemporary mad-scientist Adam Savage is such a master. Savage’s art of building things quietly shows that he is intimately familiar with his tools and their use cases. More than that, he has a plethora of tools at hand that he has built for himself over the years. Savage is able to select and use the correct tool for each occaision to maxmimum efficiency. I believe that this a mark of a master craftsman: to possess a deep familiarity with your tools so that their use becomes an extension of your intent. Should I ever need to build malevolent siege engines or other nefarious mechanisms, I would definitely attempt to recruit Adam Savage.

This familiarity yields another benefit: the ability to repair and build one’s own tools. For the modern age, the right to repair is paramount. It allows one to shrug off the dependency of corporations that seek to control and regulate technologies and their use. Open source tools and software enable self-sufficiency and self-reliance through freedom. As supervillains, autonomy is an requirement.

When The Pirate Bay faced elimination by Interpol and other law agencies, the knowledge and skills of the site’s crew allowed them to evade the authorities by hiding servers in caves and routing traffic through low-orbit drones. This is an example of resilience through mastery. The crew deeply understood their system, what was required to keep it running, and the tools needed to make it happen. Conversely, other sites have traded power for convenience by relying on “as a service” solutions that require less know-how to create and manage and have paid the price.

For an evil empire, it is better to err on the side of do-it-yourself. After all, our motto here is: “knowledge is power”. Invest the time into understanding the tools that you use. The more you use it, the better you should know it. Learn how to repair, upgrade, modify, and extend it. Build your own tools. Deign to get your hands dirty and (if not reinvent) reimplement the wheel. Then, should you choose to use a pre-made wheel, at least you understand it more deeply.

This does, however, come with a caveat: do not get mired in the design of tools. Learn them through use. Instead of polishing the hammer swing it until it breaks then repair it. Grow accustomed to the weight and feel.

By mastering and building the tools you use, the application of your intent becomes easier. The knowledge of your chosen trade/specialty broadens and strengthens your foundations. Complete mastery of your tools will enable you to build a lasting and robust evil empire.