As a child, Niwa read an informational picture book about societies who lived in the shadow of great deteriorating civilizations throughout history. It was written to help children adapt to their own Collapse. Seven generations ago. One story that really moved her was of the tribe of Aspendos. They dwelled in great, crumbling buildings built by the Roman Empire. The Aspendosians benefited from the plumbing, great artworks, and buildings that had survived the fall of the empire, without the skilled artisans to maintain them. Disintegrating great halls, used as barns, filled with excrement. Tools and dishes forged by the fallen superpower served generations that lacked the means to create them themselves. Niwa related to the feeling of being one of few people living in the abundant leftovers of a nation of ghosts. Her depopulated continent barely resembled the land of the Americans, even though the Comfort Age left behind extravagant ruins and artifacts for their dwindling descendants to echo around in.
