Zero notices the gesture. It seems almost shy or bashful on the other man. For a moment, he wondered about what kind of knowledge gaps a person might have when one's government is trying to do all the thinking for you and he supposed he felt a certain kind of pitty for him.

"Ostensively it's a democratic republic, but now that they've rebuilt a bigger, badder military to push people around with ..." He lets his voice trail off. "The government is very interested in protecting its own interests and maintaining a good quality of life for wealthy people - but there are pockets of lawlessness, sometimes very large ones, among the non-wealthy."

"You ever heard the saying 'might is right'? That sums it up well enough."