Innis recognized that the Newtonian hierarchy of natural events had crumbled. He was not under its spell in the least, because he saw what had to be done was a great leap forward in understanding of organizing human affairs. Approaching the past dynamically as a dramatic action with a world cast, Innis naturally saw history as a mass of ruins and misconceived enterprises. In his power to reveal the pattern of massive imperial events, Innis is a kind of deus ex machine unmasking the actors. This power to expose the hidden motivations of great corporate actors, such as the city-state of Roman or Babylonian bureaucracies, almost puts Innis in the role of a satirist. One no sooner uses the word than its appropriateness to Innis becomes evident.