so like. here is the thing, about topaz and complicity.
i think topaz knows, on some level, what she's doing. i think she is at least aware of the fact that the ipc is not always good or kind, and that sometimes their "help" isn't help at all, and she chooses to advocate for accepting that help anyway. i think she knows that jade ruins lives just as much as she benefits them, and even knowing that, she still looks up to and admires jade. she might not know the full extent of the ipc's crimes, or exactly what oswaldo schneider's done, but i think she does know that bad things happen in the ipc--that the ipc does bad things--and she supports them despite that. her work enables the ipc to do its work, and the ipc's work has destroyed people. topaz justifies it to herself, but i think she recognizes that fact. i think in every way that matters, when it comes to what the ipc's done, topaz said yes.
because, in the only way that matters, she couldn't say no.
topaz has been an employee of the ipc since before she was old enough to even understand what that means. there's every possibility she's been an employee of the ipc since the day she was born. yes, she chose to jump in with both feet; yes, she chose to work her way up the ranks; yes, she chose to become one of their best employees, and ultimately, a stoneheart. but in that first choice--in the question of "do you want to work for the ipc or not"-- she didn't have a say at all.
humans don't do well when we don't have a choice in things. when we are stripped of agency, we turn on ourselves. it is painful, to not have control over our lives.
so i think topaz chooses to stay, because she can't choose to leave. and part of that is that the ipc did, in fact, save her. her planet was dying until they came in, brought it back to life, and offered her a way out. every opportunity she's ever had has come from the ipc, and everything she's experienced beyond her home planet is because of them. at this point, she's enmeshed: she's a stoneheart, she's one of their best employees, and they do in fact treat her well. and this is what she's found purpose in doing! it lets her do something she finds worthwhile and take care of her animals! part of it is that she does think the ipc allows people to do, on average, more good than bad, and she's established a place for herself with them. but i think another part of it is also that if she ever did try to leave, she would have to acknowledge that she can't. she does not have that power. there is no ending a lifelong contract with the ipc. and if she ever did say "i'm quitting and i don't want to do this anymore" . . . what would she do if they said no? what would they do to her?
yes, topaz is complicit. she's not just an ipc employee, she's one of their finest, and she's absolutely done things to people that range from questionable to actively life-ruining. she's a debt collector. but she's also someone who didn't have a say in signing away the entirety of her life to this company, and who has no way to meaningfully leave said company. she's an enabler of the ipc and she's a victim of it.
and i think she's lying to herself about it, because it's easier to tell yourself you had a say than to admit that you've been hurt. i think she tells herself she's making her own choices, because for the most part, she is--except for the fact that she's never had the choice to walk away, and if she ever tried she would find out just how much the ipc owns her.
because the thing about topaz and complicity is that there are perks to being a good employee. the ipc gave her a future. and as long as she never tries to leave, she never has to find out if they wouldn't let her.