The greater of two goods

Bare Bones

Chapter One

1. "Anton, increase the supplement allocation for Coastal. Wilf has four more orphans now."
2. Lora waited as patiently as she could manage for Anton's response. She knew he would frown and object. Why'd we get a supply keeper who thinks his job is to keep all the supplies?It would be so much easier if she dared confide in him.
3. "Not possible, Team Leader."
4. Lora looked at the stacks labelled 'Supplement'. A quarter of the space in the cramped cabin was taken up by the piles of pocket size packets. The bulk of the primitive implements that crowded the rest of the area made them look insignificant, but they were vital, vital to their survival on this world and vital to her plan. She turned to fully face Anton. "Why not possible? We have enough for twenty years at least. "
5. "Policy."
6. Lora reached out and picked up one of the packets. Small enough to fit half a dozen in her pocket, to a casual glance it might be one of the spice packets almost all of the indigenes carried. "look at it, Anton. Nobody's going to recognize it as alien. Even if someone got ahold of one of them and used it they'd just think it was rather bland or maybe too old. Just what policy could that violate, even in the worse case?"
7. "The Non-Interference Policy, Team Leader."
8. "Oh, really, Anton!" Rigid, space-born, petty tyrant. Good thing I didn't try to recruit him!
9. "Yes, really, Team Leader!
10. "Are you aware that the Coastal agent has been teaching these orphans? Teaching them to read!"
11. With some expression on his face he's almost good looking. Much too close to suspecting though. Hang on to the cold silence. Maybe it'll work. Lora pulled out more of the packets and started stacking them by a carrier.
12. "You can't just ignore me, Team Leader. Without my authorization nothing gets through the security field. My title is Security and Supply Officer for a reason."
13. Is that the problem? Not using his title offends him, maybe? With a sigh Lora pulled herself straight. "Very well, Security and Supply Officer, as your Team Leader I am authorizing the issue of additional supplements to the Coastal Agent. I assure you that he is not intervening in anything. The children he adopts are considered dead by their families, so no interference whatever he teaches them."
14. "Except that he is denying them their heritage. They lose contact with their culture and cannot become part of ours. This is exactly what the Non-Interference Policy was designed to prevent."
15. "Anton, the policy was intended to prevent more advanced cultures from over-running others, not for preventing humanitarian actions. Those children would be dead if Wilf hadn't taken them in!"
16. "Some of them, yes, some of them would have died, but others would have been adopted into settled clans and kept their heritage. You don't know what it is like to be denied your heritage, to have no roots."
17. "But you, I thought you were --"
18. "Space-born? No, I was one of the children shipped out after the great quake. Just shoved off into a strange culture where I couldn't even speak my own language. I forgot it! I had to relearn my native language as an adult!
19. "Don't tell me Wilf is using their language and think that makes it right. We aren't their kind and they will realize it someday.
20. "The teaching has to stop and the children be returned to their own people!"
21. Poor Anton. If I could only tell him that they will be. It's all part of the plan. But he'd never understand. Maybe.... "Not yet, Anton. When they are strong enough to survive and have some skills that will make them worth adopting."
22. "No supplements for them, Team Leader, they have to survive on what is available in their culture not become dependent on ours." "Very well. I'll accept that but you are not to interfere in the teaching." Will he accept that? Does he even understand how to compromise? Training those children is the key to giving them a chance to break out of their stagnation themselves without outside interference. If only I could make him see that!
23. "As conscience guides, Team Leader."
24. That tears it!"By the way, I'll be going out to Coastal next trip so allow supplements for me. I may stay there a rotation."
25. "Yes, Team Leader."

Outline
Quarter Point

1. P 'saves' 'big throat' Traveler child about to be abandoned (because Traveler tonic makes her ill) by 'adopting' her.
2. She gives the child supplements from her personal supply.
3. This antagonizes the Traveler men who feel their judgement is challenged.
   

4. They reach the coastal settlement with P and child very ill from tonic.
5. CW refuses to accept child.
   
6. A relieves P of Lead status on grounds of health and charges her with incompetence.
7. He then orders CW to stop teaching orphans to read and write and confiscates his stocks of supplement.
   

8. Slowly recovering P watches Travelers brew tonic from seaweed in seawater and load dried fish for sale inland.
   
9. A, thinking that by dispersing the group the 'plague of reading' will be stopped, supervises placement of healthier orphans with Traveler groups.
10. CW confides in P that he has used the Each One Teach One technique.
11. Ignored by everyone except the Traveler women P experiments with seaweed, fish and other local products looking for best source of supplement replacement.
12. A is confident that Headquarters will confirm his actions and rotate P home.
    

13. P finds the dried seaweed the women eat is the best supplement.
14. She realizes that although some of the Traveler men have the swollen throat none of the women do.
15. P, with the assistance of Traveler women convinces the group that the seaweed 'snacks' will help anyone who cannot use the 'tonic'.
16. A attempts to forbid it but since it is something the Traveler women have been using all along he is over-ruled by Headquarters and he is the one to be rotated home.
17. Returning groups bring requests for more trained teachers and construction of the school begins.
    

(c) Margaret I. Carr (1999)