“So what’s the scoop?”
“Um, it looks like we’ve got two different groups working. VEHEMENT is definitely behind the attacks on infrastructure. They’ve left the usual calling cards afterwards. Everything is designed to target food production. They’re very tech-savvy and obviously know what they’re doing.”
VEHEMENT appeared to be some kind of radical environmental group, whose ultimate goal was to save the world by removing humanity. And they weren’t picky about ethical questions when it came to their methods.
Charles popped up a couple of images, and samples of the VEHEMENT statements. He waited for me to review them before continuing. Some were the typical pompous ravings of self-important people—all pronouncements and assertions, written with nose firmly in the air. Others were acerbic and even ironic. This latest fell into the latter category:
A friendly reminder that you are a scourge on the universe. Do it a favor and disappear.
This public service message brought to you by:
Voluntary Extinction of Human Existence Means Earth’s Natural Transformation
Charles continued when he saw he had my attention. “The attacks on Florianópolis don’t fit the profile, though. There’s no announcement afterwards, and the attacks seem aimed at maximizing fatalities rather than damaging infrastructure. They’re not sophisticated, either, mostly just brute-force explosives. I think those are just attacks on Brazil, or what’s left of it. There’s still a lot of resentment against them for the war.”
I nodded thoughtfully. This confirmed my private opinion. “That also means the second group might not be a single organization. It could be multiple groups or even independent individual actions.”
“Agreed. For all that more people are dying in those acts, it’s less of a long-term issue and can be handled by local law enforcement. The VEHEMENT stuff worries me a lot more.”
“Mmm-hmm. They haven’t gotten at any of our space-based assets, but considering the technological expertise they’ve already displayed, I wouldn’t be surprised if they figured out a way.” I had my mouth open to describe the steps I was taking to track them down, but then hesitated. I wasn’t entirely sure why—I couldn’t realistically suspect Charles of anything—but I got a sudden feeling that I should play this close to the vest. VEHEMENT was good. Maybe they could decrypt communications between Bobs.
I had implemented full scanning of all communications in the solar system. A half-dozen AMIs monitored all communications, watching for key words or patterns. It was a scattershot tactic, but I really had no other options. There was no reason to inform the other Bobs. I wanted them to act natural, anyway.
Charles interrupted my train of thought. “How’s the construction going?”
“Oh, uh, I was just checking that. Generally still on track. I’m going to check with Homer, next, about food production.”
Charles nodded. “Okay, let me know if you need any help in that area.”
I gave Charles a nod, and he saluted and popped out.
Next on the list was food production. I sent Homer a quick text about the space-based production facilities, and he reported that the wheels of industry were turning smoothly. I smiled at his response. I’d taken to calling him General Bullmoose, and rather than take offense, he thought it was hilarious. Typical Homer.
My smile disappeared as I pored over the attached spreadsheet. Food production Earthside continued to drop as the climate deteriorated. The pounding that the planet had taken during the war was sending Earth into an ice age. As the glaciers advanced and snow accumulated farther and farther from the poles, arable land became tundra, then tundra became ice. We had to balance food production with moving higher-latitude enclaves into more equatorial locations. Homer’s space-based farms were taking a lot of the pressure off. As each farm donut was spun up and began producing crops, we were able to move Estimated Time of Habitable Earth Remaining later by a couple of years. The farm donuts were Homer’s idea, and he ran them like a military operation.
However, the thirty thousand people we’d managed to get off-planet so far were barely a drop in the bucket. Fifteen million human beings were all that was left of Homo sapiens, but it was still a lot of bodies to move. Fifteen hundred ships or fifteen hundred trips.
I put down the document, and took a moment to massage my forehead. The UN session had started a few minutes ago, and I needed to be there. Highlight of my day, for sure. Not.
Since the departure of the USE and Spits enclaves in the first two ships, I didn’t really have anyone I talked with regularly. All the other enclaves maintained a very arms-length relationship, except for a few like New Zealand who were actively antagonistic. Between that and my relatives being in stasis, I felt very isolated these days.
Well, at least today’s session would be interesting. We’d just gotten word about Poseidon from Mulder at Eta Cassiopeiae. The biology was compatible, and the floating mats were more than adequate to live on, at least in the short term. Longer-term, the system had enough resources to support construction of floating cities. Several of the smaller island nation enclaves had expressed an interest.
The problem was one of priority. Exodus-4 and -5 were almost finished. Would we send one to Poseidon, or send both to Omicron2 Eridani?
The member from the Maldives was speaking. Representative Sharma was campaigning hard on behalf of the tropical island nations. Common wisdom held that they should be last out, since their climate was still the most moderate.
“Yes, as the representative from Vancouver Island has pointed out repeatedly, the Maldives and other equatorial nations still have moderate climates. What the representative has failed to do is explain why that matters. If we emigrate, our lands become available for those in extreme hardship. Either way, the hardship cases are ameliorated.”
She motioned to the image of Poseidon. “The important question is whether we settle a second system, or whether we continue to pour all of our emigrants into Omicron2 Eridani. We are better off now, as a species, than we were a few years ago. We are spread through two star systems. But three systems would be better, and four even more so. All other things being equal, let us at least go for three. The challenge to the member from Vancouver Island, and to other objectors, is to show specifically why things are not equal, and not by using faulty associations.”
Representative Sharma stuck out her chin defiantly, held the pose for just the right beat, then released the audio, giving up the floor.