Traitors.
Something that would inexplicably crop up as soon as you stopped keeping an eye on it.
Many people, reading the news on their devices or chatting over a meal, would joke that no matter how powerful or wealthy you had been, all someone needed to do was dangle some grand promise of dubious feasibility in front of you, and you would eagerly abandon everything you had to go fawn over them.
But that was not how it actually worked. Not every traitor was that greedy. Sometimes, no matter how high a price you offered, they would not be tempted.
Three dishes and a soup reliably served every day, or an imperial banquet you had to gamble your life to get-people in high positions were not all gamblers. How could every one of them choose to stake their lives on whether their own side would discover their betrayal? Wouldn't that mean they placed no value whatsoever on their lives?
But those who treated these matters as casual conversation failed to consider that, besides profit, there was something called leverage. Once you had it, you could make people obey. Unless things reached the point of mutual destruction, whoever you held that leverage over would keep working for you.
What? You said the Federation's capitalists were all squeaky clean, and its upper circles were equally spotless, without a trace of ugliness or filth? Everyone was kind and gentle, and every last one of them would treat you well as long as you treated them well, so there was nothing to worry about?
Hello, I have a free tour package here: a month in District 25, with meals and accommodation included and five-star hotel service. You'll just need to pass through the Wasteland. Please pack some extra clothes and get a medical examination