Book 3: Chapter 52: Waiting
Riker
February 2252
Sol
“Well, that’s it, Will. They’re now completely dependent on us.”
I turned to look at Charles, slumped in his chair. The weariness was psychological, of course. VR avatars didn’t get tired, unless we wanted to. But if ever there was a reason to just give up, even for a few moments, this was it.
The report had just come in, and was sitting in my holotank. The last viable large-scale farming operation had failed. Almost complete loss of the crop, not nearly enough saved to make up seed stock for the next year, even if nothing was allocated to consumption.
“Right.” I sighed. “So, do we reallocate our dwindling supply of metal to make more farming donuts to keep them fed?”
“Or more colony ships to get them off-planet?” Charles knew the routine, and slid smoothly into the mantra.
“Or stasis pods to put some people on ice to reduce the pressure on supplies?” I finished the litany without emotion.