Conflict is expressed when a miner bribes pirates to leave them alone and to instead attack their competition. It is a trader acquiring Skiffs to sell in a region that has been ravaged by gankers. It is a level 5 mission runner trying to keep their carrier away from predators. It is a nullsec 'ninja explorer' shortcutting through wormholes to get their precious A-type goods and pirate battleship BPCs to market. It is an alliance logistician trying to stockpile a thousand Oneiros hulls without allowing their rivals intel on their fleet compositions. Every interaction in EVE is about conflict.