“Huh.” Grace takes a moment for that to sink in. “Six billion people, all in one city…” No wonder Agent Jean is thinking that way.
Shaking the thought off for now, she smiles at them again, trying to soften her response. “Well, unless I’m real mistaken, this isle has a lot fewer than six billion people. It’s got fresh air, fresh water, animals and plants that’re good to eat, people who know how to farm, a whole mine…”
Grace shakes her head. “Honey, I think there’s a good reason Mayor Poe’s worried about running out of people more than she’s worried about running out of things. Taking your mine example, so long as you’ve got the know-how, you can re-use metal… pretty much forever. I suppose you might lose a tiny bit,” she adds indulgently, “but I’m thinking this place’ll have more to worry about by that time, in a couple hundred years, and there’re ways to pull metal out of mine tailings.” She ticks off more items on her fingers. “Trees grow back, and they don’t like being crowded, so a good arborist or two will keep everyone with a steady stream of lumber. Copper’s a commodity, and a damn useful one at that, so you’re gonna have an out-take of copper because folks are using it to make things long before you gotta worry about deflation…”
Clearly realizing she’s gone on a tangent, Grace clears her throat. “Well. I’m sure other people would know about the situation here better than I would. But I can’t say I’m seeing anything to worry about with regards to any of what you mentioned. It’s good of you to be proactive, though,” she adds encouragingly.
no subject
Shaking the thought off for now, she smiles at them again, trying to soften her response. “Well, unless I’m real mistaken, this isle has a lot fewer than six billion people. It’s got fresh air, fresh water, animals and plants that’re good to eat, people who know how to farm, a whole mine…”
Grace shakes her head. “Honey, I think there’s a good reason Mayor Poe’s worried about running out of people more than she’s worried about running out of things. Taking your mine example, so long as you’ve got the know-how, you can re-use metal… pretty much forever. I suppose you might lose a tiny bit,” she adds indulgently, “but I’m thinking this place’ll have more to worry about by that time, in a couple hundred years, and there’re ways to pull metal out of mine tailings.” She ticks off more items on her fingers. “Trees grow back, and they don’t like being crowded, so a good arborist or two will keep everyone with a steady stream of lumber. Copper’s a commodity, and a damn useful one at that, so you’re gonna have an out-take of copper because folks are using it to make things long before you gotta worry about deflation…”
Clearly realizing she’s gone on a tangent, Grace clears her throat. “Well. I’m sure other people would know about the situation here better than I would. But I can’t say I’m seeing anything to worry about with regards to any of what you mentioned. It’s good of you to be proactive, though,” she adds encouragingly.