A Lunchtime Proposal

Jonas Bohannon quietly eyed the rather luxurious meal laid out on the table in front of him, a mixture of carefully prepared meats and vegetables, and a glass of sparkling wine. He glanced up at his lunch guest, who was simply staring back, likely waiting for him to eat first.
"Not that I don't appreciate it, but may I ask what the occasion is?"
The woman, Akeyo Oduya, flashed a curt smile at him, "Do I need a reason to invite a colleague to enjoy a fine lunch with me?"
Bohannon shook his head, "No, but this isn't that. No offense, but you need to play politics longer to learn the fine art of subtlety. You want something, my only question is what. I can't think of many things the Minister for the Colonies could want from a senator from Luna."
Her smile didn't fade completely, but it did diminish slightly, "Is it that obvious?"
He nodded, and she sighed before continuing, "You would be surprised at how much politics goes on behind our doors, Senator, but I won't press it. Yes, I do need something. In fact, I think I'd be accurate in saying that all of humanity needs something right now, or will very shortly. Tell me, what is on your plate and in your glass?"
Bohannon raised an eyebrow and looked down again, "I don't speak French, but it looks like a rib-eye steak to me, and this is some sort of w-"
She cut him off, quickly and deliberately, "Food, Senator. You have food and drink. Very nice, food too, I might add. There are many people out there who do not have even simple foods to survive off of, and far beyond what the government would consider a 'usual' level."
"Well yeah, it's hard to feed everyone right now, what with all the refugees around. It's a problem on pretty much all the surviving colonies, not just Earth."
"Exactly. And it's not just the refugees, but so many of the worlds that produced so much of our food are also gone, and since we had built up so heavily around a relatively small number of worlds exporting so much food, those that are left are largely unable to provide for their people, especially with the influx of refugees."
Bohannon raised a hand, "Okay, yes, I understand the problem. It's something people have been talking about since the last remnants of the Covenant were mopped up in-system. I'm well aware of the problem, Minister. If you're proposing something, please get to it."
She seemed almost taken aback, but only for the briefest of moments, "Ever since the first colony ships left the Sol system, we've kept a catalog of all the worlds we've seen. It's something like roughly ninety four percent of all planets ever surveyed by humanity have been uninhabitable, not even fit for our best attempts at terraforming, and so these worlds were largely ignored. At most, they served as small scale or automated mining sites."
Jonas began to cut into his steak, which looking at the menu nearby identified it as Entrecôte, and took his first few bites as he listened to Oduya.
She continued, "Technology has come a long way, not enough to fully turn dead worlds like Mercury or Pluto into lush paradises, but enough that we can still use them. I'm sure you're quite familiar with what I mean, Senator, being from Luna and all."
He swallowed and looked at her, "Bio-domes have never been an immensely popular option among colonists and developers, though I'm sure you know that."
"I do, but quite frankly, we lack the room to worry about that. Any and all options must be considered before we fall over the edge, biodomes, orbital arcologies, hollowing out resource asteroids like that one rebel colony years ago."
He raised an eyebrow again, "What do you mean, the edge? Our problems are bad, but they're not world ending."
She shot an almost deadly look at him, "Aren't they? You might not see them here, or near your home, but our worlds are overrun with people who have spent their lives running from the aliens. Earth would have trouble supporting itself and its own people right now, let alone the tens of millions of refugees. They live in camps with no running water, rotten food, and almost no medical care. Not because the government doesn't want to provide, but because it can't.
Soon, we will reach Summer, and people will die of heat stroke, and then winter will arrive, and the people will freeze to death, and all the while people will starve, and disease will spread among the camps and into the cities. As the problem grows, our resources to fight it will shrink. We will have survived the Covenant, just to be finished off by our own inaction."
Jonas didn't say anything for a long while, and when he spoke up, he was a great deal quieter, "Do you have stats to back that up?"
She nodded, "I do. They came from the Ministry of the Interior, though I'd suggest you talk to them yourself for all the details, but it's bad, and it will get worse if we do nothing."
"So your proposal is to step up colonization, to relieve pressure on Earth and the surviving colonies? It's sound in principle, but you've got to know that others are going to accuse you of a power grab, right? The more colonies there are, the more power and funding your Ministry gets."
She nodded again, "That's why I called you here. I'm not a Senator. I'm not even an elected official. If I start talking about this to other ministries, or God-forbid the media, they'll either think I'm trying to take advantage of the situation, or start a panic. But you, you're a popular Senator. You're from a world built on these "alternate" roads to habitability. Your word carries a lot of weight, and if you put forward this proposal, I'm sure it will pass in no time, and no one will question your motives. Everyone wins, and no one starves."
Bohannon looked around, as if suddenly worried about the presence of a spy or media hound, "Do you have this proposal with you?"
She bent to her side and retrieved a data pad from her bag, handing it over to him, "The basics of everything is on there, though I left the specifics up to you and your colleagues in the Senate to decide on."
He stared at the pad for a long while before eventually moving to stuff it in his coat pocket, "I'll look it over. If I like what I see, I'll have a write-up ready when we return to session in a few days."
She took a long sip from her wine, making eye contact with him the entire time, "I hope you're a quick reader, Senator. It won't be long before the people get... frustrated with their situation, and frustration can quickly turn to violence, especially if they learn about what a lovely meal you and I just shared."
Bohannon blinked, unsure if her comment was a threat, or a prediction. Oduya didn't seem to want to clarify either as she wiped her mouth and stood up. She grabbed her bag and left a pile of credits on the table as she walked away, "It was a pleasure talking with you, Senator."
Category:Demons of Hope
Category:The Weekly
Category:The Weekly Winners