I genuinely see no conflict here, and I think anyone who does has gotten caught up in a narrative. I don't really care if their picture falls apart, if it requires magic than show me how it works...But I think the book explains it already, indirectly

What is prophecy?

The US empire will collapse, and its not going to be spectacular, it will happen with agonizing slowness.

In a moment of enlightenment, I knew it was true. I'm having a lot of trouble accepting it, even years later - I still wait for people to take to the streets and take back our democracy, or for a solar flare to give us a reset. I'd rather be there to rebuild or have AI or aliens save us... But that's not going to happen, is it?

Deep down I understand it's cope, intellectually I see how it fits together. I know how this plays out in general terms, but I haven't seen the future. I've just seen the full picture for a moment

Is that a prophecy? Because what I felt at that understanding was despair and resignation. I could write a poem about it, does that make it a prophecy?