On beaches and ocean floors, empty sea shells display the insecurities of their creators.

People can build such intricate barriers, their own shells, to protect themselves, hiding their faults and insecurities. Individual people as well as institutions, agencies, and governments.

Over the years and decades, complex networks of deception have developed from one reaction after another. Each node in the network is formed with the promise to “fix it later”, but such networks are tightly woven and one lie cannot be “fixed” without fixing them all.

On the sea floor, other creatures will use the decaying shells for their own purpose and gain.

With humans, defensive systems are much more complex as other people and communities become woven into the fabric of lies and deception.

These people and communities must adapt to survive while the creator is strong and vibrant. But when the creators of the deception begin to fade and die away, the people must figure out which parts of the shell they can use and which parts should be discarded.

Regrettably, different communities might disagree as to which lies have value and which ones do not.

Like pairs of ragged claws fighting over an old shell to hide in.