Quiet Invasion(27)
All right, at least you’re willing to admit that much, Dr. Failia. Su folded her hands on the desk and mustered her “serious diplomat” tones. “You do realize that the colonies which have paid off their debts and become going concerns all have some kind of export or manufacturing base?”
“Until now, yes.”
Su found herself having to suppress a laugh. The question hadn’t even ruffled the surface of Dr. Failia’s confidence. “So you are hoping the research value will offset the economic liabilities?”
“Research and publicity.” Helen thumbed through the screen rolls on the desk, pulled out the one labeled “University Funding” and presented it for Su’s inspection. “Research departments in both universities and private industry are fueled by their papers as well as their patents. From a publications standpoint, Venus is more than ready to be exploited.”
Su nodded as she skimmed the numbers again. It was all true and reasonable, as far as it went. But the fact was that the pure-research colonies had never worked. The small republics, and even the big universities, were unable to keep them funded. The United Nations was unwilling. Nobody said it out loud, of course, but the established wisdom was that the planets should be saved for industry, and now for the long-life retreats that the lobbyists were proposing as a way for those who had children but wanted extended life spans to have it all. They could live in specialized colonies with continued gene-level medical treatment without straining the balance and resources of Mother Earth.
Su found herself extremely ambivalent about that idea. But this one…Su liked the vision of this gigantic bubble of a town, sort of a U.N. City in the Venusian sky. She liked Helen’s enthusiastic and detailed descriptions of not an outpost but a real community, as self-supporting as any off-world colony could be, given over to exploration and research. True, this vision ignored most of the political realities and historical examples, but that did not lessen its attractiveness. Su did not get much chance to dream anymore, and she found herself enjoying the opportunity.
Still, no politician could afford to dream for too long. It’ll be shot down by the rest of the C.A.C. if it gets in their line of sight, she reminded herself with a sigh. They did not like approving doomed projects. It made for snide comments in-stream and low scores on the opinion polls.
But maybe, maybe there was a way around that.
“I will be honest with you, Dr. Failia,” said Su. “Without the money in account, this is not going through.”
To her credit, Helen Failia did not say “But…”
Su leaned forward, making sure the other woman met her gaze. “However, if you can get at least some of the start-up money, I think its chances are very good. Very good.”
As Su watched, light sparked behind Dr. Failia’s dark eyes. “Well, thank you for your time, Ms. Yan.” She stood up and held her hand out. “I’ll see you when I have my money.”
Su also rose. “I look forward to it.”
They shook hands. Helen gathered up her screen rolls and left without a backward glance. Su sat back down behind her desk and watched the door swish shut. Her headache, she noticed, had vanished.
“Desk. Sort recording of completed meeting and extract proposal details for the construction of Venera Base,” she said thoughtfully. “Assume acquisition of adequate funding. List applicable regulatory and legislative requirements that must be met for construction of the proposed base.” She paused. “Also extract voting records of C.A.C. members and project probable votes should proposal come to committee as offered in this meeting.”
Helen, after all, was not the only one who had work to do if Venera was to…well…fly.
It had taken five years, but the money had been found; the base had been built, and for forty years after that, Helen kept it running. She scraped, scrounged, begged, borrowed, and worked the stream with a skill Su had seen only in the very best politicians. She had help of course. Sometimes, Su felt that while Helen had raised Venera, Su herself had raised Helen. She’d taught the older woman the finer points of publicity and spin doctoring. She’d steered her toward the more sympathetic funds and trusts. After the Bradbury Rebellion, Su had helped Helen make sure that all their money came from Earth so there could be no tangible connection between Venera and any suspect persons, who, at that point, included everyone who did not live on Mother Earth.
Helen had never married, never had children. Venera and its prosperity had been her entire life.
And she had almost lost it. Su tried to imagine what that felt like and failed. Her own life had been tied to so many different things—her husband, her son, political ambitions, and the colonies. Not just Venera, but Small Step and Giant Leap, Bradbury, Burroughs, Dawn, the L5 archipelagoes, all of them. They deserved their chance to flourish. Mother Earth needed her children, but like any flesh-and-blood parent, she needed to treat them as people, not possessions.