Almost all of history was a carefully constructed mythology for use as propaganda or nation building. - Stephen Baxter

From the air Illinois was a vast emptiness studded by lost-looking little towns.

But Parz was better than nothing: it offered stability, regulation, a framework to live in. People gripe about their tithes—and nobody's going to pretend that the Committee gets it right all the time—but most of us would prefer taxes to living wild. With all respect to you, my friend." He bit into his cake. "And that's still true today; as true as it ever was.

But that's insane," Morrow protested.
Uvarov hissed, "No one ever said it wasn't. We're human beings. What do you expect?