On reaching the basement of the Yeager family home in the remains of Shiganshina, after the operation to retake Wall Maria successfully concluded, the Survey Corps and residents of Paradis were faced with an alarming truth. Human civilization beyond the Walls in the world of Attack on Titan, was not just abundant and far-reaching, but also thriving and much more advanced than the Scouts had ever imagined. In fact, Paradis Island was nearly a century behind the rest of the world in terms of technology, military power, and diplomatic relations. This deficit in their development was not helped by the fact that the entire world saw them as "Devils," who threatened the human race with an apocalyptic reckoning.

As a means to do even the playing field, the Scouts and Paradis' government attempted to foster diplomatic ties with other nations and devise methods to ensure their long-term safety, which would allow the islanders to catch up to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, many of their ideas faltered in the face of the collective global hatred directed towards the Eldians of Paradis, which led Eren Yeager to activate the Rumbling in a bid to wipe out all life beyond the Walls. At the time this nightmarish turn of events was occurring, many of the inhabitants of the world of Attack on Titan would have wondered if there was ever truly a way to resolve the age-old conflict between Eldia and Marley through less violent methods.

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Bringing Paradis On Level Terms With The World

Originally, the Survey Corps first encountered a group of dissenters among the Marleyan forces sent to investigate Paradis during the time skip, who were known as the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers. At the time, they were lead by Yelena, who was a staunch follower of Zeke Yeager, the War Chief of Marley's Warrior Unit and the holder of the Beast Titan. Consisting of individuals from nations that had been conquered and annexed by Marley, along with a few captive Marleyans, the Volunteers sought to aid the Eldians of Paradis in getting up to speed with modern technology.

The objective was to develop enough infrastructure and military might to reduce Paradis' dependence on the Power of the Titans. With the aid of the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers, Paradis also reached out to the nation of Hizuru, which once had close ties to Eldia prior to its fall from grace. Through Mikasa Ackerman — a descendant of the Azumabito family, whose lineage could be traced Hizuru's former shogun clan — Paradis was able to build a relationship with Kiyomi Azumabito, an ambassador from Hizuru.

Both the Volunteers and Kiyomi had decided that the best way for the islanders to buy time for themselves, would be through a small demonstration of the Rumbling, which would provide the necessary deterrent against external aggression. This was made possible by Zeke's cooperation in their plan, as he was a Titan shifter of royal blood who could grant Eren access to the Founding Titan. However, the Survey Corps and the government of Paradis led by Queen Historia Reiss were reluctant to resort to such a gruesome use of the Wall Titans, and continued to pursue diplomatic routes towards peace.

Despite their many efforts to trade with other nations, they were met with nothing but rejection on account of the crimes of their Eldian ancestors — which inspired fear in the minds of other nations, and prompted them to brand the islanders as "Devils." A trip to the Marleyan mainland all but confirmed that diplomacy was futile, as the Scouts witnessed the prejudice that most of the world held towards Paradis in full, indicating that more drastic measures were necessary.

Zeke's Euthanasia Plan

In tandem with this plan, Yelena and Zeke were plotting to carry out their own solution to end the persecution that Eldians from all over the world had to deal with. The crux of this plan also involved uniting Eren and Zeke to harness the Founding Titan in full, based on the theory that person who was not of royal blood could use its power if they came in contact with a Titan shifter with royal blood. As Zeke was the son of Dina Fritz — one of the few remaining members of the original Fritz line that decided to remain on the mainland — he could fulfill the latter role.

On seeing the hatred the world held towards the Eldians of Paradis, Eren was convinced that diplomacy was impossible, which lead him to seek out Zeke directly. As a result, he infiltrated the Marleyan military and spent time on the other side of the sea as an Eldian in the Liberio internment zone. On finally meeting his half-brother, Zeke informed Eren of his own plan, which eschewed the Rumbling, and intended to use the Founding Titan to modify the bodies of the Subjects of Ymir and prevent them from reproducing.

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In effect, this forced sterilization would trigger a gradual process of extinction for the Subjects of Ymir as a whole, ending any notion of the threat that the world viewed them to be. Zeke's hypothesis supporting this plan was based on an old legend, where it was once said that a past ruler of the former Eldian Empire had once altered the bodies of the Subjects of Ymir to make them immune to a certain disease, which subsequently culled an outbreak of said ailment.

While this plan would have ended the persecution of all Eldians, the Subjects of Ymir could not have taken this grim fate lying down. The inhumane nature of its activation, coupled with Zeke's lack of concern for his own people, would ultimately culminate in its failure as no one apart from Yelena was really willing to go along with it. Even Eren baited Zeke by pretending to agree with him, just so he could access the Founding Titan power and activate the Rumbling, which proved how unacceptable it was to the inhabitants of Paradis.

Was There Any Way Apart From The Rumbling?

At every juncture in the series after the time skip, Armin had continued to advocate for a diplomatic resolution without the aid of the Rumbling, even as Marley and the rest of the world continued to fan the flames of hatred towards Paradis. The simple fact was that despite the islanders' best efforts to explain that they harbored no desire for war, the world was just not willing to listen, having been blinded by their loathing and the spread of Marleyan propaganda against Paradis.

Even the partial Rumbling would have bought Paradis a few decades at best, and the rapid advancement of military power at the time was a concerning prospect, as a combined retaliation by all nations from the world was practically assured in due time. That is not to say the Rumbling was justifiable by any means, as it resulted in devastating loss of life on a scale that was never seen before in history. By the time of the Raid on Liberio, the Rumbling's inevitability was effectively sealed when Eren killed innocent civilians and dozens of world leaders in one fell swoop.

From one angle, Attack on Titan's storyline took a very deterministic perspective on how events played out, where choices were nothing more than illusions, as the future influenced the past and vice versa through the Founding Titan and Attack Titan. If this means there was ultimately no solution, it is a very morbid thought to say the least. Perhaps the most important message to take away from this is that preventing the cycle of discrimination, persecution, violence, war, and hatred, from taking root before it is too late, is what truly matters — an idea that is more relevant now than ever before.

Attack on Titan is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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