Do you have any friends, the darkness asks, and for a moment you’re surprised: you expected salt, maybe, or terror.

China has some wisdom to offer on this point: Learn how to make a lot of things that are basically useless and also a few things that matter, then flood the markets.

The trick is that once the markets are flooded, you must create new markets.

Darkness does this all the time, knocking at your door: Do you have any mercy, it asks, any weapons, any sugar, any stone.