“Because of him?” Buckner asked. The man was prematurely graying, but attractive. He was also the man in charge of most of the news media, new small screen endeavors and new movie projects. In the next year, his work would start to see fruit.

He’d asked about ‘him’. Scion.

“We thought it was industrial contaminants, but it may be deeper than that. Some of it might be how Scion decided to use his power. More of it is the sheer damage he did to the planet itself. There’s a degree of it that’s impossible to know for certain, that has to do with the Class-S phenomena. Portals to other worlds, tinker tech left to molder. It’s not only the radiation either. Methane levels are rising, food stockpiles on that side are dwindling fast, and the people there are getting sick for a variety of reasons. We’re facing some immediate sacrifices if we want to keep the remaining people in Bet alive,” Jeanne said.

“I’m always leery of those who say others need to make sacrifices,” Mr. Nieves said.

Jeanne raised an eyebrow. Gary Nieves was a little on the portly side, and if he wasn’t at least forty, he certainly looked it. Otherwise, the man looked after himself and portrayed a good face to his constituency. Of the five people contending for mayorship over the city, where roughly half of the North American survivors of Gold Morning were staying, he polled in fourth place.

Still, of the five people in the running, he was one of the three who were present and discussing things. In a sense, really. He was slow to provide workable solutions and quick to criticize. In another era, he might have been a politician who rose up by being an effective critic of the incumbent. In this era, there was no incumbent.

“We’re all going to need to make sacrifices,” Jeanne said. “You can see our proposals online. The reception is strong. I can give each of you the first look at what we’re looking at doing, so we can all be on the same page. Anyone can visit our website and see the roadmap we laid out. This, what we’re talking about today, with labor law. It will improve employee health by one stage of separation. General happiness, satisfaction, keeping the peace, lower crime, all are minor factors or two steps or more removed.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re insignificant,” Mr. Druck said.

“Not insignificant. I would say…”

“Relatively less significant,” Jeanne’s assistant and husband Kurt said. He had his own laptop in front of him, and his eyes didn’t leave the screen, peering past thick-framed glasses that faintly reflected the image on the glowing screen. The sky beyond the window was dark, even with it being the middle of the afternoon, and the lights in the meeting room were off.

“Thank you dear,” Jeanne said.