It was under these circumstances that the national government extended and modified substantially its contract with SECURITA. The security firm had been hired by the Ministry of Defense to supplement its border guard, which, when terrorists appeared in Germany, was deployed along Poland's western frontier by adding units withdrawn from the southwestern border shared with the Czech Republic. This move had been severely criticized and very much resented by most people not in charge of national security, but, considering that terrorists and terrorism were responsible (or, at least, held responsible) for just about everything that happened, there wasn't much that anyone could do to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this new and startling development (which was the privatization of national defense) was not necessary or, at least, justified. Private security firms had always been popular among the elite - why shouldn't national governments be able to take advantage of their highly trained professionals? especially since these were difficult times - made even more difficult by coal trafficking.

– Verse 26 from the chapter called Security

The spring was very hot that year - too hot. Turning from fire control and coal investigation, we began providing security for various festivals. Festival organizers, however, were disappointed - not with us, but with people, who were too disinclined to attend. Either temperatures were too hot, or they were too busy doing something else: pursuing fortunes, no doubt, building what they thought were filtered palaces: estates. They weren't in the mood for festivities. It was completely understandable - at least, for the wise: who could expect people to come together when they were so busy setting themselves apart? By September, not a single orchard-grower had the time to attend Orchard Day in Treblinka. The local orchestra performed for a while, then the Dance Club students danced a few dances to records. It was dismal. The commune's Harvest Home celebrations were livelier, but, apart from the local authorities, no one from Treblinka - except for one elderly couple - bothered to come. Town was separating from village.

– Verse 235 from the chapter called Security

In those days, many political things were happening. War broke out: a United Nations coalition led by the United States was fighting piracy in outer space. There was a man calling himself Sadatmo of Dhagbod; he was a leader of pirates threatening the trade routes between the Moon, where China dominated, and the Earth's orbit, which America controlled. For reasons beyond my scope of understanding at the time, this conflict involved Mars, which, apparently, had been supporting the pirates in their struggle against American trade interest. Many of the pirates were members of bankrupt or otherwise out-of-business tourist or shipping companies. They blamed America for their abject poverty: they had nothing, and the companies who cooperated with the United States (flying their flag even!) were considered fair game.

– Verse 119 from the chapter called Childhood

The Brigade might've been relocated (or disbanded even, considering the Union army's expansion in those days) if not for the efforts made by northern districts in Wroclaw to lobby the President's office. Their local economies were intimately tied to the presence of a Polish army base and Handerek, belonging to the political party whose coalition was ruling Parliament (with single-digit support ratings in local polls), could not afford to lose a single district in the upcoming election. The bureaucratic mess in Warsaw helped, and, as long as Handerek made sure the soldiers of the Twenty-third didn't starve to death, Poland's defense minister was willing to look the other way. Without his support, no one, especially not the head of Section 1-A (the administrative section of Poland's general staff), was going to be convinced - by Lipski or any of his higher-placed friends - to do anything to change the god-awful status quo. Lipski was on his own - with a rising suicide rate, and no better method of upholding effectiveness other than harsh discipline and merciless drills.

– Verse 18 from the chapter called Arms

When coalition forces opened fire on Dhagbod ships, the ships went to A/COMP - that was confusing. Then the Martian Governor-general stepped in again, promising that he would persuade Sadatmo to withdraw peaceably or else, thereby saving the coalition the awful expense of having to invade occupied stations. Nobody knew what the Martian Governor had up his sleeve, but, if he succeeded, Sadatmo would remain in power with his forces intact - what that meant for Mars was anybody's guess. In the end, the coalition was undeterred. The United Nations wouldn't budge, and the Martian Governor backed off.

– Verse 126 from the chapter called Childhood