In Rorschach's view, the production capacity of the three major nations had reached a tipping point. It was time for war to force them to mobilize all their assets.
Take sugar, for example. Although the entire continent considered it a precious luxury—especially since teahouses could boil tree roots with a dash of sugar and sell it at an exorbitant price.
But the stuff wasn't scarce at all. Ever since Rorschach got involved with the beverage factory, Istani had been importing a continuous stream of sugar from overseas plantations. It was just that everyone from the raw material suppliers to the retailers had a tacit agreement: don't lower the price, and especially, don't devalue the product's premium image.
When "Fanta" burst onto the scene, the Bayern people were stunned. How could they buy such a sweet drink for the price of a light beer? They began to wonder just how profitable that ridiculously expensive sweetened water in the teahouses really was.
