Cast your mind back to the start of the Iran conflict in March, when everyone and their uncles said we were on the cusp of World War III.
Headlines warned of the historic oil shock that would lap all our shores.
They said our economies would go into freefall.
Or, at least they should have.
But beyond a small bump at the petrol pumps that has largely remained stuck in place, there hasn't been the widespread inflation a lot of clever boys and girls feared.
Or, at least here in the UK, which, by the way, has some of the highest energy prices in the WORLD.
So, why didn't prices soar as we expected them to?
Was it a case of the news doing what the news does best and keeping us in a constant state of doom and gloom?
Not quite.
According to one chap I follow, Max Fisher, China was actually the reason this never happened.
Long story short:
China is the highest importer of oil.
They gobble down this black nectar the same way a grizzly bear would devour an elk after it woke up from hibernation.
So when the Strait of Hormuz shut down, it left a whole lotta sweat in a whole lotta government hands around the world.
And rightfully so.
But then something weird happened.
With the click of a finger, China somehow slashed its crude oil imports by half.
They did this through a combination of having (reportedly) the largest stockpile of reserve oil on the planet, ramping up their coal use, and cutting back on their own export of refined oil, along with other stuff I'm too fried to recall.
This almost single-handedly prevented the global oil catastrophe many smart heads predicted.
(Cheers, China.)
But why did they do this?
For humanity? Out of the kindness of their heart?
Oh, how I wish that were the case!
Very little on the world stage is done for the good of everyone else. It's done to send some sort of overt or covert message and/or to gain leverage over our adversaries.
The question is… what?
Was it to show the US they can crush economies at will?
Was it to protect China's export markets?
Was it to rebuff any Western interference over a possible Taiwan takeover?
Or a combination of all of the above?
We will never know. Well, not yet, at least.
What I do know is that we're humans.
While we are greatly innovative and capable of extraordinary things, we, like most animals, are also a deeply untrusting species.
Where there is control to be had, we will take it.
Where there are resources to steal, we will do it.
And where there is leverage to be had to minimise or eliminate our opposition, we shall pursue it to whatever end necessary.
Such is the human way.
It is neither entirely great nor malevolent; it just "is."
These aren't just the realities of our species' story, however.
These are also the realities of The Divided Region.
(C'mon, you knew the pitch was coming.)
While the two kingdoms, Elron and Vlencia, need not worry about oil shocks or their economies plunging into freefall, they do have to contend with the other, who is always on the hunt for an opportunity to slit the other's throat figuratively AND literally.
And similar to the Taiwan situation…
Both Elron and Vlencia have been fighting for control over Skull Island for centuries.
"Why?" you ask.
Well, you can find out more in Lore & Order — the companion lore book of the series in e-book here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/lore-and-order
Have a great weekend. Stay classy out there.
DJJW