There are billions of lives at stake. Tinkering with the organization of human society — it never ends well. - Daniel Suarez

Technology. It is the physical manifestation of the human will. It began with simple tools. Then came the wheel, and on it goes to this very day. Civilizations rise and fall based on technological innovation. Bronze falls to iron. Iron falls to steel. Steel falls to gunpowder. Gunpowder falls to circuitry. Sobol looked toward the camera again. "For those among you who don't understand what's happening, let me explain: the Great Diffusion has begun—an era when the nation state dissolves. Technology will cause this. As countries compete for markets in the global economy, diffusion of high technology will accelerate. It will result in a diffusion of power. And diffusion of power will make countries an ineffective organizing principle. At first, marginal governments will fail. Larger states will not be equipped to intercede effectively. These lawless regions will become breeding grounds for international crime and terrorism. Threats to centralized authority will multiply. Centralized power will be defenseless against these distributed threats. You have already experienced the leading edge of this wave."

Adisa did manage to tune in Earth radio stations, and occasionally he would play music or news throughout the habs. The news was strangely the same — war, political crisis, and celebrity.

In the vast game of Darwinian musical chairs, whenever the music stopped there were large numbers of people without a seat — and some smartass had sold them guns.