crisis that is currently developing across the world and in our own nation. We are dealing with unprecedented events that have caused and will continue to cause greater and greater disruptions in world wide Manea production. These events are unlike anything we've encountered before. Now our great Nation has grown and expanded faster than any of us could’ve imagined. The vastness of our numbers are simply astonishing. We as a great and numerous people cannot survive without a plentiful and inexpensive supply of Manea. Plentiful and inexpensive is what has allowed us to become what we are today.”
He studied their faces to measure their reaction, then continued, “Ladies and Gentlemen of the Senate, we no longer have that plentiful supply. Every man, woman, and child must eat. Every animal of every clan must eat! Not only are we facing a severe reduction in supply, we face demand that is not only greater than ever but endlessly growing. I am not here to cause unnecessary alarm or panic. This was kept private for that very reason, until we had done everything in our power to address the problem, to understand fully what we were up against.”
Speaker Fife interrupted, “With what right have you withheld this information from us?”
Valance turned back to the speaker. “This is a world wide phenomena and not at all limited to my company. You’re own internal agencies have said nothing? I am certain many of you in this room have known of this for a long while. My purpose today is to bring this issue out of the dark. It must be dealt with, and we must have the participation of all - including the public!”
The crowd of senators stirred. A subtle roar of discontent filled the room.
Valance rose his voice to speak over them. “We have done everything possible to stop the shrinking production. This is our business. So rest assured that we’ve done everything possible to keep our production from dropping off. We're losing money, and we haven’t been able to do anything about it. We are developing alternative solutions, of course, as I’m sure every other large scale Manae producer is. But they will take time to implement. Ten, possibly twenty years. In the meantime, we must turn to the one thing that we can control. Our consumption. Senators, we must cut back. We must ask the public to make sacrifices.”
“Sacrifices?” The Lord Speaker interjected. “And who will determine these sacrifices?”
A Senator on the second row stood up. “Who'll ensure that this sacrifices will be evenly distributed amongst the houses and clans?” He called out.
Valance answered, “It won't be evenly distributed. It can’t, we…
The room erupted into a cacophony of angry voices.
Valance tried to continue, yelling over them. “Please! Please!”
The senators continued, with hundreds of voices shouting over the top of each other. Valance reached up to the Lord Speaker’s bench grabbed a gavel and banged it repeatedly. The unorthodox behavior worked. The room quieted.
Valance regaining their attention, continued, “This is the way it must be done!”
The Lord Speaker interrupted, “It is not the House Lord Valance privilege to dictate what this Senate will or will not do!”
The room broke out in angered shouts.
Valance rushed up to the half wall separating him from the first row of senators, jumped over the wall and climbed up onto the closest desk. With his hands raised, he yelled as loud as he could, “Quiet! Please!”
The room again subdued into a gentle roar.
Valance continued. “We have two options. We can allow market forces to dictate who can who cannot buy Manea. As you know, with anything in limited supply the only ones who will have access to it are those with sufficient means. If only those with sufficient means have it and all others are left on their own, who will tend the animals? Who run the street cars? Who will keep food coming into the city and water flowing out of our pipes? Without Manea, the entire working class will be lost. Now you tell me, is that a working strategy? Should we allow those with money to hoard and waste while the rest of the population descends into madness? Those with money would not survive such a scenario any more than the rest of us.
“The second option is to appoint a committee to manage the distribution of Manae, thus allowing us to maintain operation of vital services. Not all houses and clan carry the same weight in terms of our survival. Some hold strategic positions which