Interesting. I didn’t even think it could’ve had a compassionate cause. The two characters I remember so far showing fear that Galt might be alive seemed more like ones that would be happy he was - so your interpretation makes more sense. Thanks for the insight!
Yeah, so far at least I see Stadler as kind of a wussified Galt. He knows what’s right, but is too willing to compromise due to some belief in the futility of fighting what’s going on. While he did work for the establishment of the Science Institute which strikes us as emblematic of the collectivism about them, he apparently didn’t do it out of those beliefs, and doesn’t even seem to adhere to them himself. I kind of suspect that somewhere in the book he’ll find his stones and stand up and finally become fully one of the good guys. Don’t forget he was one of (albeit the weaker one) the formational mentors of Galt, d’Anconia, and Dannerskjold.