Why should it be so? It was as if humans built such places as this with the sole purpose of finding ways to dominate each other. Muub listened to Add… - Stephen Baxter

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Why should it be so? It was as if humans built such places as this with the sole purpose of finding ways to dominate each other.
Muub listened to Adda’s clumsy explanation of this. “But it’s inevitable,” he said, his face neutral. “You have to have organization—hierarchy—if you are to run the complex, interlinking systems which sustain a society like the City with its hinterland. And only within such a society can man afford art, science, wisdom—even leisure of the most brutish sort, like these Games. And with hierarchies comes power.” He smiled at Adda, condescending once more. “People aren’t very noble, upfluxer. Look around you. Their darker side will find expression in any situation where they can best each other.”