Sebastian continues his story about the true causes of the Universal Catastrophe.

Sebastian takes a small sip from his glass. His face has an expression of condescension and intellectual superiority.

Then he continues his story: “I have already said that the United States of America was founded on a Supreme Idea. This Supreme Idea was the Idea of Freedom. The power of Ancient America was based on the Idea of Freedom, just as a strong building rests on a reliable foundation. However, over the millennia of the existence of the United States of America, gradual changes have occurred in this great state. The inhabitants of Ancient America gradually lost their understanding of the Idea of Freedom. The laws of Ancient America changed. As a result, it came to the point that Freedom began to be limited, and then even absurd prohibitions arose that directly contradict the Idea of Freedom."

You ask: “What are the prohibitions?”

Sebastian replies: “For example: ridiculous bans arose on the trade of certain goods. It was forbidden to trade in people, some chemicals, some weapons. I understand that this sounds like nonsense. From the point of view of any modern, reasonable and civilized person, the idea that "you can't sell a captive who was captured after a battle with a hostile tribe" is an extremely idiotic idea! But such prohibitions actually existed in the legislation of the United States of America immediately before the start of the Universal Catastrophe!"

Sebastian takes a piece of jerky from his plate and takes a bite of it.

He then continues: “As a result, there was a gradual decline in efficiency in every sphere of life in ancient American society. The less freedom there was, the less efficiency there was. Since the United States of America had many powerful technical devices that produced enormous amounts of energy, one day these devices began to fail due to the ineptitude and inefficiency of the people who controlled them. A series of major man-made disasters occurred, which coincided with the most powerful natural disasters. The result of all these tragic events was the Universal Catastrophe and the **** of ancient human civilization!"

You ask a question to Sebastian: "Why did you say that the Free City of Alma is the true heir to human civilization?"

Sebastian answers you with enthusiasm: “Because the laws of the Free City of Alma are based on strict adherence to the Idea of Freedom! In our beautiful city there are no absurd prohibitions that limit the sale of goods on the free market! Free Elections are regularly held in our city! The President is the ruler of our city and we elect a President every 4 years! By the way, in three months there will be another presidential election in our city! And we also have a parliament called the Congregation of Representatives"

Conrad grins and says: “There are several nuances. In the free city of Alma, there are laws on assigning levels of citizenship for money. The higher the level of citizenship a city resident has, the more rights and opportunities he has. For example: the right to nominate oneself for the position of president is only from a city resident who has a tenth-level citizenship and who provides a deposit of 1 million crefs."

Sebastian says: “This is quite logical. The idea of ​​Freedom provides for the opportunity for everyone to earn money. The more money a person earns, the more effective and successful he is. The president is a very important position, this position should only be held by very successful people who know how to effectively conduct business "

Conrad continues: “Yeah. So for a couple of hundred years now in the Free City of Alma, the position of president has been held by representatives of the two richest families of this city. There are always only two candidates in elections. As a result, the president is always either someone from the Layton family, or someone - from the Ecarto family. In the elections that will take place in three months, one candidate is William Layton, a wealthy arms and armor dealer, owner of the private military company "Angels of Liberty". The other candidate in this election is Matilda Ecarto, who owns the largest bank "GoldStandard" " and the security company "IronShields". By the way, it is important to note that a specific person is elected to the position of president only for 4 years. The law prohibits holding this position for several terms in a row. Currently, the president is Cyrus Ecarto, the owner of many food farms and Matilda's father. So I think there will be little intrigue in the upcoming elections! Ha! Ha!"

Sebastian winces and says: “I don’t understand your mocking tone, Conrad. The idea of Freedom involves competition. Competition necessarily leads to the victory of a small number of the most competitive people. The most competitive people ensure the highest efficiency in all spheres of public life. This is True Democracy in in the best traditions of the Ancient United States of America!"

Conrad and Sebastian continue their conversation, which is accompanied by arguments. You understand little of their words, but you try to remember information that is useful to you.