The mishap leads to a systemic survival instinct, missing thus far in the new. They had probably presumed the survival was ensured by the old. At the prospect of baton being passed to them, the new realizes their struggle was never for the good or bad (of the society), it was for them(selves) - to understand who they are. Their situation is different from their olds. Their new ideas are not a solution for the old(er) problems, they are the plumbing for the new order. They must account for the stability of the new regime