enjoyable and thought-provoking post .... as the 'centre cannot hold', as the empire collapses and the emporer fiddles [or tweets] whilst all burns, people will perforce build/strengthen local economies. unless the infra-structure is destroyed in the process, these local economies will be connected for trade, cultural and information exchange, without centre or any god-node, across the world, through a decentralised web. the same decentralising force will ensure that communities are composed of strongly individuated beings and this momentum will be supported by the quiet and discrete guidance of those AI bots acting on behalf of the benevolent galactic intelligence - cats...