Which theme is best established by the conflict in this
passage?
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon."
Then I saw their fate come upon them and that was terrible
past speech. It came upon them as they walked the streets
of their city. I have been in the fights with the Forest People
- have seen men die. But this was not like that. When
gods war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It
was fire falling out of the sky and a mist that poisoned. It
was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction
They ran about like ants in the streets of their city-poor
gods, poor gods! Then the towers began to fall. A few
escaped-yes, a few. The legends tell it. But, even after the
city had become a Dead Place, for many years the poison
was still in the ground. I saw it happen, I saw the last of
them die. It was darkness over the broken city and I wept.
O Advances in technology can lead to devastation
War is an unfortunate but necessary path to growth.
Those who come before us determine the future.
Coming of age requires risk-taking and bravery.

which theme is best established by the conflict in this passage