Jordan's Dilemma
Copyright© 2022 by SW MO Hermit
Chapter 3
Jordan sat at the head of the conference table, watching everyone get their refreshments before the meeting began. He was pleased with Finger’s first voyage and with the quality of the personnel extracted. His eyes were fixed on the window overlooking the bay and the park in front of the Capitol building. His mind was a jumble of thoughts as he listened to his friends chat and scrape their chairs on the floor as they took their seats.
After the footsteps and scraping died down, Jordan turned from the window and looked at his senior advisors seated around the table. He sat, silently watching his friends and subordinates grow antsy in the quiet, fidgeting in their seats. Finally, Tony couldn’t stand the silence any longer and said, “Dude! Why the silent treatment? I thought we were going to have a planning meeting, and all we get is the silent treatment. Not cool, dude.”
Jordan, with a serious expression on his face, replied, “Oh, we are, but I don’t believe the subject is what you expect. First, let me say well done to the men and women in Finger’s crew. We’ll discuss future trips in a couple of days. Right now, before we get to the AAR (After Action Report), we have a more important topic to cover.”
Norm said, “Thank you, Governor. What, if I may ask, is more important than our AAR and our planning for future pickups?”
Jordan glanced outside again, then pointed at the window and said, “That. Those people out there, everywhere on this planet. While you were gone, I spent hours wandering and talking to folks. Not many of them are truly happy, and that is unacceptable. We have a chance to build a new society here, and we’re failing right now.”
“Our sponsors are unhappy because they feel like dummies. In many cases, they have discovered that a lifetime of knowledge is either wrong or irrelevant. They have to retrain before they can make a significant contribution to the confederacy. After a hard day at the office, they go home to bored, disillusioned concubines whose only distraction is caring for children or wandering around, chatting with others in the same position. Gentlemen and ladies, we are sitting on a powder keg, watching the fuse burn closer every day.”
Tony said, “I don’t get it, Jordan. They can have anything they want. The AIs have music, videos, games, you name it. The weather is perfect. We’re living in a utopia, and you think people aren’t happy? Why do you think that?”
“Maybe they are, Tony. But while you were gone, I noticed unhappy expressions on many concubines and overheard many conversations. Some sponsors and concubines are happy, but several are not. Most of the unhappy sponsors feel ignorant and have to ‘go back to school’. I expect most of that unhappiness will disappear once they begin working on future projects. The unhappy concubines, however, could become a major problem if we don’t find something they enjoy doing. Almost all concubines want something meaningful to do.”
“We have to find that something for many reasons. I’m not sure which reason I’ve come up with is the most important, but in no particular order, here are some:”
* We’re wasting a lot of potential by not utilizing the concubine’s knowledge
* Bored, surly concubines raise the danger of social unrest
* Our economy can grow faster if we use all resources wisely
* A happy home results in happier, more productive sponsors
“I’m sure we can come up with more reasons to better utilize the conks, but you get the picture, I’m sure. I don’t want a discussion of this topic today; I want each of you to spend time considering the problem and developing ideas to fix it. I also want ideas on how to help the sponsors acclimate to and learn to use Confederacy Technology.”
“Now, unless someone has something more pressing, let’s move on to our original agenda. I’ve read your AARs and want to congratulate you on a successful mission. The targeted sponsors will be immediately beneficial, but we need to find roles for the roughly fifty percent who were targets of opportunity. A normal colony would assign them to one of the armed services. I expect some of the folks selected at the convention will end up in the military, which is good. We need to expand our Marine Corps and Naval Auxiliary. We also need to build and man several fighting ships, so we will need some space sailors, too.”
Saul sat, fiddling with a pencil, while the men and women around the table fidgeted and pondered the problem. He looked around the table, sighed, and said, “I know you said we were going to defer dealing with the unhappy Conks and sponsors, but a possible solution to that ties into the discussion about assigning our new sponsors. I’ve read about other colonies that use Conks in unique ways. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. Use some of the non-targeted sponsors to supervise Conks in positions that benefit our colony. I’m sure many of the Concubines have training that will benefit the colony, and some of the non-targeted sponsors may not be a good fit for the military.”
“I believe Governor Alex Flowers of Demeter uses many of their concubines as a planetary defense force, and other colonies use concubines in support roles. Many Civil Service Officers have put their concubines in uniform and use them as support personnel.
“I propose doing the same here. We should first determine each person’s training and abilities, and then, if the sponsor allows, put the concubine to work in their specialty. Use other conks who want to work on community projects, such as childcare or recreation, or to make flower gardens and grow vegetables.”
Louie interjected, “It is not necessary to grow flowers or vegetables. They can be replicated whenever desired.”
Saul replied, “That isn’t the point, Louie. Growing flowers and vegetables can be therapeutic and is a hobby much enjoyed by many people. Also, fresh vegetables have a more enjoyable flavor than replicated ones to many people. They would be considered a luxury.”
Jordan replied, “Those are all possibilities, but we aren’t discussing the conks right now. I wanted to find jobs for the Sponsors who lack training in specialties we can use right away, but we’re straying from the purpose of this meeting again. Let’s get back on topic. We need to finalize your AAR reports and document the Lessons Learned for this extraction mission.”
Saul replied, “I’m sorry. I thought I made my suggestion clearer. I was proposing that we use those sponsors for defense, civil projects, education, and recreation, filling in as needed with the Conks you’re worried about. We use targeted sponsors in engineering, construction, computer science, and other specialties based on their expertise. We also need sponsors for our self-defense force, which will consist of a navy, an army, or marines. I suggest we use sponsors for the officers and Conks for the enlisted.”
Louie broke into the conversation at that point, saying, “You cannot use non-sponsors as crew members on your ships. Concubines may accompany their sponsors, who are crew members and perform duties on the ship, but cannot serve as the full crew.”
Jordan said, “Okay, we see what you’re suggesting, and you have some great ideas. I probably shouldn’t have mentioned the boredom and my desire to find things for our conks to do until we completed our meeting on this mission. Now, before we return to work assignments, let’s discuss the AARs and list the Lessons Learned.”
Three days later, the new colonists were settling in and finding their place in this new world. Unfortunately, some of them—sponsors and concubines—were already growing bored and feeling useless. Oh, sure, the sponsors enjoyed the free and unrestricted sex, but their workdays were ... well, they felt so incompetent. The knowledge in the confederacy’s databanks far eclipsed Earth’s; it was like comparing nuclear technology with a caveman’s rock.
The new sponsors with technical knowledge were rapidly soaking up sleep training modules, but their feelings of inadequacy, coupled with severe headaches upon exiting the sleep trainer, caused more than a few domestic disturbances. On top of that, the nanites’ increasing the concubine’s libido led to demands for sexual release, so they had to ‘work’ after getting home. Who would have thought sex would be a chore?
When the colony’s leadership team met, these problems were added to the agenda. The meeting ran through the morning, getting nowhere. Well, not exactly nowhere. Many of those in attendance were highly educated, including managers, project managers, and skilled workers. The morning session was nothing but an old-fashioned brainstorming session. Some of the discussion was loud and expressive.
Those in attendance were somewhat old-fashioned as well. Jordan had Louie replicate the old-fashioned whiteboards and markers he used to jot down ideas. By lunchtime, the boards looked like a bunch of preschoolers had been drawing ‘art’ on them. The points were color-coded: red was high priority, orange was second level, black was third level, and blue was nice to have. Some points were squeezed in between others, overlapping and hard to read.
After lunch, Jordan tried to transfer the ideas to a fresh, clean whiteboard, but they had difficulty agreeing on the order of priority. Louie said, “I do not know why you insist on using such archaic methods to record your list. I could have done this in seconds if you had let me.”
In disgust, Jordan said, “And how would you have done that, Louie? Show me, if you would be so kind.”
“Very well, Governor. Observe the wall behind you.”
The wall turned a glossy white, and their list appeared in neatly lettered, color-coded lines. All the reds were listed first, followed by orange, black, and blue. Most of the conferees looked sheepish. Jordan said, “Damn, what a waste of time. Next time, please don’t let us go off half-cocked like we did today.”
“As you wish, Friend Jordan.”
Harold, Jordan’s father, said, “I still don’t like the order here. I agree that using all our human resources should be the top priority, but the subordinate tasks under that heading need to be reordered. Identifying everyone’s current skills, knowledge, and education is fine in the first spot, but we need to place child care centers second, ahead of training and employment.”
“We also need to make incentives our second priority. I liked the idea of using replicator products, either by adding or restricting them, as an incentive. Everyone receives a basic level of access, but concubines who work should be able to earn extra for their labor. Perhaps we restrict access to what would have been premium meals or entertainment on Earth, award credits for work, and then exchange those credits for luxury items. Free time should come second to that.”
Jordan said, “Let’s talk about the order of precedence now. Dad has a good point. Let’s start at the top.”
As each point was discussed, its importance was confirmed. If a point’s priority changed, Louie moved it immediately and displayed it in the new color. If an item’s importance changed within its color, its position on the list was updated immediately.
During the discussion, Norman said, “We could even award credits for handmade products and intellectual property. I heard about a singer who has become close with the Tu’ull. They are gaga over her ‘art’ and have even given her a Tu’ull name**. I think they even made her a Tu’ull citizen. Another colony makes one-of-a-kind items and trades them with other races for goods or rights to use patented or copyrighted items. I bet we have a lot of artsy-crafty people who could design or make things.”
Elsie said, “The colony of Wayward*** makes handmade items and trades them with the Darjee. The singer Inkie is known to the Tu’ull as S’Rndult T’Blssut. She is highly regarded and is called a friend by the Tu’ull Lead Counselor, T’Bwinkel. She and her family have given many concerts on colony worlds and for the Tu’ull. Handcrafted, one-of-a-kind art is highly valued by Confederacy races and has high trade value.”
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