Shoshone Station: The Galactic Consortium season 2

Episode Four: Meteors #16

Their Consortium liaison, Arneshi, was waiting inside, and Dan didn't get to tell his next story until later. They ate supper on the patio, and Arneshi briefed the president on what to expect in the next couple of days.

"As a preliminary consideration," he began, "the Information Bureau has enacted a temporary time stamp. What that means is this: any discussions you hold regarding this council, how you will vote, offers made, maneuvers discussed, all of it, will be kept secret for now, barring illegal acts. That means you can't ask for private information about what other countries are planning, to listen to their conversations, etc. And they cannot know what you are planning. This is, of course, temporary. After the council, these things will become part of the public record as always.

"Our first priority will be, of course, to establish the council itself. How it's governed is up to the members, and you will have to negotiate this with each other. We will lay out a blueprint and give some examples of how it's been done elsewhere. In some systems, every member precinct has an equal vote and takes equal responsibility for any costs or benefits. This simplifies things significantly, but I suspect it won't work in this case."

"Why not?" the president asked.

"The other option is to apportion votes and costs according to either land mass or population, since they are statistically more likely to be effected by an asteroid or similar disaster. Given the widely varying sizes of your nations, the differences in wealth amongst them, this will likely be a fairer way to go about it." He shrugged. "Your nation is large and populous. An apportioned council will be expensive, but will have much more power to say what happens."

"A moot point," the president said. "Russia, China, and India are large countries too." To Blumenthal, "Russia and China are coming?"

"They've agreed, reluctantly. I think at this point they're scared of being left out."

Arneshi nodded his agreement.

"The European Union is sending one representative for the entire continent. Another large and populous country. And I can guess that none of them will want to surrender power if at all possible. We assume they will vote for an apportioned council."

Clever, Dan thought. The president likely wanted to keep as much control as possible, without seeming power hungry.

"And the small nations of the world will not be able to afford the expense, perhaps," Arneshi said. "And will quickly agree. That leaves one huge issue and one huge wild card. Adari will speak for Angorak; Mars as you would say."

"And what about him?" Blumenthal asked.

"Apportion by size, and you give him enormous power. He speaks on behalf of an entire planet. But you will also saddle him with nearly a third of the cost, or more. Apportion votes by population, and you minimize his power."

"But we end up paying Mars's share of the expense."

"You mentioned benefits. What sort of benefits are we talking about?" Dan asked. He gave Blumenthal a sheepish look, unsure if it was his place to be adding to this conversation between Arneshi and the president, but he had a suspicion, and it could be important.

"Good point," Arneshi said. "There are two major benefits derived from the council. It is the Council of Orbits and Objects. Orbital pathways are part of the public good. Prime orbits, like prime real estate, are worth a lot. It's typical for the council to charge a small fee to stations, ships or companies with satellites in prime orbits. Or, if the satellite in question provides for the public good, they might be compensated."

Dan could see the president's mind turning over the ramifications. On one hand, this survey would reveal the location of every US satellite, even secret military ones. But it would also reveal the Russian and Chinese ones. After some time, he nodded. "The other benefit?"

"Asteroids. Sometimes they need to be removed. Sometimes they are junk, and it's an expensive proposition. Other times they contain ores, minerals, and whatnot. It can be quite lucrative."

"And the council makes this money?" the president asked.

"It's laid out in the contract with the removal company. They usually offer a split; they take a loss on the junk in return for a cut of any ore."

"Sounds reasonable," the president mused.

When Arneshi had left, the president paced the patio area and addressed the people assembled there. "You know, this is how I see it," he began. "I don't care about Shin. I don't care about whether Mars gets this or that. I don't even care about the rumors or any of that. This is a chance to do something that we've dreamed of since the League of Nations at the end of World War One. We have a chance to bring the entire world together." He brought his hands together, fingers interlaced. "Every nation, coming together in one place, and show that we can work together in a cooperative fashion. That is the most important thing."

Dan felt pride swell inside his chest as the president spoke. This was a man worth serving under.