[A centuries-long war... Is it something like a patent war, she wonders? Or would it be closer to the sort the Army in Black represented?]

"Cruel" isn't a strong enough word, but it's the best description all the same. People struggle each day to survive, being taken advantage of and taking advantage of others in turn, turning a blind eye to those they hurt along the way.

[Depressing, she knows, but it's the truth, and this man has done nothing to to warrant deception.]

Not that I've seen much of it firsthand, but neither have I seen much evidence to the contrary.

...May I ask what your world is like?