Imperial Ruin rarely arrives as a single catastrophic event. It arrives as a series of small concessions: privacy surrendered, standards lowered, boundaries apologised for.
The Smith pattern shows what happens when a man continues to fund, defend, and beautify a structure that has already declared war on his authority.
A King does not argue for the legitimacy of his throne. He governs. Governance begins with what you permit, what you finance, and what you refuse to negotiate under duress.
The ruin is not only financial. It is psychic. A man who knows he is being looted but keeps signing the checks begins to hate the part of himself that still has eyes.
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