Mn. It's the only reason we have a working government back home, despite everything. The monarchy needs the countships to cover their weaknesses and prevent rioting. It's tense, but it's still there.

Still doesn't change that most of our world died out because people got too self-absorbed fighting for their ideals. [It's hard to think of sometimes, now that he knows the truth. Just how many cities were now eroding under the ocean because of hubris?] You have to have backbone to take action as a leader, and that means conflict. But as soon as it stops being for the better good of your people, then it's lost its point.