Eating Seed Corn
It
wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
At the
end of this shift, we’re going to space two of the crew. This will be our first
“culling.” Everybody understands why this is necessary. It’s a matter of
optimizing the chances of survival for the others. I just found out who we’re
going to lose and I need to take a few minutes for myself before I make the
announcement to the crew that is gathering in the Commons Hall.
I never
imagined I might have to make decisions like this. I am Chairman of the
“Deallocation Methodology Committee” that designed the selection algorithm. The
calculation includes a dynamic model of functional and social interactions and
involves factors such as individual resource loads and contributory potential.
The
first thing I insisted on was that all members of the Committee sign “opt-in”
papers that increase their selection weighting by four percent. I also insisted
that there be no secondary review process where power plays could corrupt the
impersonal fairness of the calculation. I insisted that the deallocated
personnel not be present at the meeting where their selection was announced but
that the announcement and a memory service be held after the fact. The rest of
the algorithm is kept in confidence, but is approved by Council.
