“I'd be glad to,” replied a middle-aged man who seemed surprised to be called upon. He ran his fingers through thinning ginger-colored hair and said, “This country is experiencing moderate to severe drought in its midsection and along the southern tier from Arizona to Florida. That's nearly a quarter of the contiguous forty-eight states. The situation will probably get worse. In addition, water in the Great Lakes is at all-time lows. A prolonged drought of Dust Bowl levels is entirely possible. A megadrought lasting decades is not outside the realm of possibility.”

There was a murmur from around the table.

Brynhild opened a wooden box in front of her, dug her hand inside, and let the sand run through her long fingers.

“The party's over, gentlemen. This is the bleak, dusty future we face.”

“With all due respect, Ms. Brynhild,” drawled a Nevadan, “you're not telling us anything new. Vegas is going to be in tough shape. L.A. and Phoenix aren't much better off.”

She put her hands together in light applause. “Agreed. But what if I told you there is a way to save our cities?”

“I'd like to hear about that,” said the Nevadan.

She slammed the cover down symbolically on the box.

“The first step has already been taken. As most of you know, Congress has authorized private control over the distribution of water from the Colorado River.”

Kinkaid leaned forward onto the table. “And as you must know, Ms. Sigurd, I led the opposition to that bill.”

“Fortunately you did not prevail. Had the legislation gone down, the West would have been doomed. The reservoirs hold only a two-year supply. After that ran out we would have to evacuate most of California and Arizona and a good portion of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.”

“I'll say the same thing I told those fools in Washington. Putting Hoover Dam in private hands won't increase the water supply.”

“That was never at issue. The problem was not water supply but distribution. Much of the water was being misused. Ending government subsidies and putting water in the private sector means that it will not be wasted for the simplest of reasons. Waste is not profitable.”

“I stand by my basic argument,” Kinkaid said. “Something as important as water should not be controlled by companies that are unaccountable to the public.”

“The public had its chance and failed. Now the price of water will be set by supply and demand. The marketplace will rule. Only those who can afford the water will get it.”

“That's exactly what I said during the debate. The rich cities would thrive while the poor communities die of thirst.”

Brynhild was unyielding. “So what of it? Consider the alternatives if the water continued to be distributed under the old publicly owned system and the rivers dried up. The West as we know it would become a dust bowl. As the man from Nevada said, L.A., Phoenix, and Denver would become ghost towns. Picture tumbleweed blowing through the empty casinos of Las Vegas. There would be economic disaster. Bond markets would dry up. Wall Street would turn its back on us. Loss in financial power means lost influence in Washington. Public works money would flow to other parts of the country.”