The most immediate question that this chapter, "The Inca imperial expansion," is how, in a region that was seemingly rife with division and conflict, could have fallen to the Spanish. Conrad and Demarest leave this question relatively unanswered and nearly indicate that the "168 Spaniards [under] Fransisco Pizarro" defeated "Atahualpa's seasoned veterans" with ease. (138) This is where Restall's notion of the "few exeptional men" comes into play but Conrad and Demarest leave the internal problems of the Inca empire undeveloped. Divisions within the internal court revolving around proper treatment of anscestors' mummies, coupled with tensions and hostilities with surrounding regions, explain a weakened central structure. This does not, however, necesarily mean that subject areas would be excessively strained under the Incan elites. Conrad and Demarest reiterate on several occsion that the increasing demands of the mummy cult demanded expansion and reclamation but do not develop how these moves fomented discontent in subject areas. Expansion, and thus a larger military structure, would seem to be a boon to subjects who could use campaigns to move up the social and economic ladder. Going forward to the meeting of Atahualpa and Pizarro at Cajamarca, the Spaniards sizable force of indigenous allies is a curious reality. How were the Spanish able to muster so many in so little time? What specific grievances subject areas had towards Atahualpa (Other than the Canari, whose issues would be clear) is a missing peice in the fall of the Inca.
On an unrelated note, Conrad and Demarest assert that Inca runners could cover about 50 leagues in a day, with a league being roughly 3 miles. That would be 150 miles per day, a trip that would take Patrick Makau (current record holder for the marathon) over fifteen hours, running at his race pace (26.2 miles in 2.2 hours). Either the Inca runners were conditioned beyond belief or they had a very efficient relay system.