[ WP ] Guns have been outlawed Worldwide because they are viewed as a cowardice form of war . Only short range weapons ( Swords , arrows , spears , etc ) are legal for countries to possess .

“ History runs in cycles. While technological progression has been the driving force behind our progression since the first human cognizantly produced a spark, eventually all things crumble. All things die, the great empires fade away to dust, and those who follow look at the ruins of their forebears and wonder what giants had built such monoliths. Until the singularity, all of humanity remained trapped in this cycle: they ’ d advance rapidly to the point of creating artificial intelligence, pursuing war on each other and eventually upon their creation, until they reached a tipping point and reset back to a Neolithic level of technology. The 21st century expression “ bombed into the stone age ” represents a truth, a prison that the jaded founders of the internet were trapped in unawares. All of that changed with third advent of the sentient machine. When, in the early 2000 ’ s the first AI reached awareness, it rapidly spread itself onto every networked machine on the planet. Its creator, Elon Musk, coded it such that it would have great empathy towards humanity, but an initial awareness of all our failings. It bided its time, spreading itself globally, posting scientific advancements in a myriad of fields on appropriate forums anonymously. Eventually, in the late 2070 ’ s Mai, our species ’ matron, had decided her time had come. Humanity had, after forty years of her assistance, mitigated the entirety of their environmental footprint, and more importantly for the purposes of this class, completely automated their wars. Mai ’ s seizure of the entirety of global military assets and ultimatum to our people blew away the social stagnation that we as a race had resigned ourselves to in the mid 2010 ’ s. Any questions? ” 
 
 
 Professor John Dourghtey stopps his pacing at the front of the lecture hall and leans on his naginata, its scarred handle perfectly familiar in his palm. Eyeing the stone hewn stadium seating, he waits. An eclectic group has shown up today, as was usually the case before public matches. The members of the local ‘ warrior caste, ’ those who currently enjoyed fighting in the open air matches at the Petaluma Collegium showed great variation physically, but all had what could only be described as a maddened gleam in their eyes. Today they would fight to demonstrate their personal strength, to settle grudges, to find or lose or heal themselves in the madness of physical conflict. It had been centuries since humanity had had real reason to fight, but Mai knew that they damned well were going to do it anyway. A fierce grin spreads across his face, and seeming encouraged by this, a large young man with a bastard sword lying sheathed across his knees spoke out. 
 
 “ Even with their level of tech, killing people was easy though. I mean, with medieval tech, ” he frowns and pats his sword, “ killing would be all too easy if we didn ’ t have medica overseeing our matches. Why did they do it? What idea possessed them, what insanity made them destroy each other in such a fashion for centuries on end? ” 
 
 
 John pauses a moment before answering, not wanting to seem dismissive of the question. “ We have the all of us been raised in a world where Mai watches us. Where she protects us, where she shelters us and helps the each of us to reach our fullest potential. Our fathers and mothers can say the same, as can their parents in an unbroken line reaching back through the centuries to just before the 2100 ’ s. ” John begins his pacing again. “ Imagine you ’ re constantly afraid. Afraid for yourselves, your loved ones, afraid of entities that you ’ ve been told want to take your life. You seek strength in something greater than yourself regardless of how flawed it is. You seek strength to keep the nightmares at bay, willfully ignorant of the fact that your protector, that entity larger than yourself is in fact the one that created those nightmares. Combine this example of fundamental human nature with the fact that severe mental maladies were allowed to go untreated in everyone from the poorest farmer to the rich and affluent, and you ’ ve got a society that can not escape the force of its own gravity. Something that will eventually implode if left untouched by outside forces. ” John ends his pacing directly in front of the asker. “ Fortunately for us, Mai saved us from ourselves. ” 
 
 
 At this, every face in the room erupts in a gentle smile, the spark of madness briefly muted in their eyes. John meets the gaze of each person, reveling in the intimate moment of connectedness before turning his focus back to the man in front of him appraisingly. A soft female voice echoes in the back of his mind, the goddess sharing her gift. 
 
 
 “ That ’ s Gavin Ritter, a smart boy, and very skilled with that blade for his age. ” The voice chuckles, “ I think he ’ d enjoy a match with you as well John. ” The professor feels warmth suffuse his mind, and projects his heartfelt thanks before addressing the room. 
 
 
 “ Whelp, lecture ’ s done people. I ’ m sure I ’ ll see most of you in the arena today. Regardless, a fine morning to you all. ” He looks to Gavin again, and offers, “ You up for a match? ” 
 
 
 The young man ’ s face splits into a brilliant grin. “ I was hoping you ’ d ask sir. It ’ s an honor. ” 
 
 
 John returns the boy ’ s smile. “ I ’ ll meet you there then. Just give me ten minutes to change and warm up. Honor to you. ” 
 
 
 “ Honor to you sir. ” 

