By the time Eurostate stabilized, the original metaphor of the treaty had become literal truth. The sword had indeed been demilitarized and most conflicts occurred through speech. Careers rose and fell through language and political power depended on narrative control but ultimately, violence had not been entirely eradicated. It had disappeared, merely been translated.
Clause One had succeeded. Almost perfectly. Which raised an uncomfortable question: What happens when the primary instrument of conflict becomes something that never stops multiplying? Because swords eventually break, bullets eventually run out but words—words reproduce endlessly. Every sentence creates new interpretations and every interpretation generates further arguments.
The battlefield grows larger with every conversation.