Spaceship Earth by Tom Schwartz

Author:Tom Schwartz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reagent Press
Published: 2010-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16. Meeting with the City

Mayors

President Nelson returned to his office and cleared his desk of routine items. There was nothing preventing his visiting the cites. He asked his secretary to make the arrangements. Protocol was important when dealing with the cities, and he did not wish to slight any of the mayors or their staffs. The difficulty was getting all of the mayors to agree on a date, time, and place. Nelson relied heavily on the political party machinery to sort this out, and he made a call to the chairman stressing the importance of an early meeting.

Three days later, Nelson was on the presidential jet heading to Panama for the meeting. It was midsummer, but you wouldn’t think it. The weather was cool, just above freezing, when he and his staff disembarked. The sun glowed orange, giving off some heat, but not enough to get a sunburn or tan. The formal greeting and handshaking was followed by a short ride to the meeting hall where the mayors were assembled. Nelson walked to the podium amongst cheers, applause, and some more handshaking. He tapped the mike to see if it was alive, and began, “Greetings, you lucky people living in a warm climate.”

There was some laughter, and Nelson continued.

“I’m here to give you good news. You know that the work on your cities was extended, not eliminated. It will be done, just not now. However, until then we need to move your government offices and population to other locations. Although this will be a great inconvenience, it is vital for your survival; and all costs will be borne by the federation. I have with me the details as to how we will accomplish the evacuation. It is important that you understand and help implement the move. There is no great hurry, as you will see from the schedule included in the package. I plan to be here for the next two days to answer any questions you may have.”

A hand went up for recognition, and Nelson nodded in the direction it came from.

“Mr. President, Marvin Salomon from Lima, Peru. I see huge concrete emplacements being constructed in this area. Does this have any relation to the evacuation?”

“Yes, it does. It is part of the federation’s plan to jump Earth to a new orbit to avoid the sun’s helium flash. This is common knowledge that has been in the media for many years.”

“Follow-up,” cried Salomon. “Why was the spaceship construction recently approved by the congress?”

This was a tough one for Nelson. He did not want to discuss the impending doom of Earth, nor did he want to avoid answering. Either way, he was in a dilemma. Finally he said, “The spaceships will provide temporary housing for part of the population that cannot be housed in the cities. It’s a quick solution until new cities are built.”

Nelson voiced this half-truth, hoping that it would satisfy Salomon and everyone else. Fortunately, it worked, and the ushers handed out the packages to the mayors.

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