“Wait, you mean in a couple of years if we can’t pay off this debt Earth will be no longer in our hands? How much money are we talking here?” Alan asked, thinking about the priceless artifacts he had recently acquired.

“It’s on the scale of tens of trillions of credits. Trust me when I say there is little you, as an individual, can do. Sure, some galactic bank or even your guild could probably bail them out, but rules governing paying back debts in the Game, as you are likely aware of, can be quite complicated. While factions, governments and guilds, can do it, while individuals cannot, I doubt anyone would see it as a worthwhile investment, and there are simply too many hoops to jump through!

"One of the main reasons that the Haxlards are investing so much into Earth infrastructure is they aim to take over said infrastructure. They will claim it through economic warfare though, something that the early Earth government had little to no experience with, especially within the galactic economy and rule set.

“To answer your other question about a timeline, the most optimistic models actually anticipate that the United World Government can last 50 years or so before declaring bankruptcy, given its capital, but even then the model displays that a default is inevitable. Others say they may run out of money as soon as five years from now! I’ll send you the data, which I’ve prepared to convince you. I’m sure your AI will come to the same conclusions.”

Icewolf tapped a few buttons in front of him, and a stream of data began to flow to Alan. He sent it to Eve to analyze.

“Wait," Alan said. "If what you’re saying is true, why isn’t this a bigger deal? Surely if this information was broadcast widely people would realize something would need to be done, right?”

“Well , there’s a number of reasons. There have been attempts to spread this information on the internet, and elsewhere, but remember that information about the Game is severely censored by the Administrators! Over 95% of humanity is still unaware of the Game’s true importance! The vast majority of players who are in-game work for major corporations or the United World Government as indebted laborers, thus the information they receive is even more heavily censored, and they have a vested interest in keeping the United World Government alive as long as possible.

"New technology makes it easier for big brother type of control too. The few that are told in-person generally have one of two reactions: they are either disbelieving or simply accept it as government working as usual! After all, many of our governments have operated on extreme budget deficits for years. They do not realize that this deficit is tied to contracts made through the Administrators. Contracts that are severely enforced in the Game. Thus far, the Haxlards have been relatively lenient, but there is overwhelming evidence they are simply biding their time.