Things changed about four days after that conversation with Jason. I noticed that the rations seemed to be disappearing a little faster than they should have been based on our projections of usage but I hadn’t said anything to anyone.
We hadn’t taken an official inventory yet, but I had a fairly good idea of what we had on hand, based on the computer records we maintained. Sarah had checked them to make sure they were being automatically updated so I knew what was on hand and what we had consumed.
No, we didn’t have to log everything because of the automatic tracking. After we had all agreed to the cut to a third of our rations, I had done a quick inventory with Sarah. That had told me about how long we had left. But I wasn’t sure that there was a problem.
David brought all this to my attention while Sarah stood close by watching me as carefully as a police officer during an interrogation. David said, simply, “I think we have some pilferage.”
I said, “What are you talking about?”
“Our food seems to be disappearing a little faster than it should.”
I admit that I was slow on the uptake, or maybe I was just playing ignorant because I asked, again, “What the hell do you mean?”
“I mean that I inventoried the food myself, checking it against the computer spreadsheet so that I would have an idea of what we had and how long we could expect it to last. I’ve watched what we ate and more is missing than should be.”
Which, I already knew because of what I had seen myself during my unofficial checks on the supplies.
Sarah moved closer and said, “Someone’s stealing it.”
David shot her a glance and said, “Well, I wouldn’t have used quite those words, but yes, someone is taking it.”
“That makes no sense,” I said, but realized immediately that it did. Someone was thinking that one person could survive longer than five and was setting up the situation where we would either starve, or that one person would be able to overpower the rest, ensuring that he or she lived the longest. Of course I had an idea of who it was, but I didn’t want to say anything at that moment.
I confess that it seemed a silly plan to me. What difference did it make if one person survived a month or two months longer than the rest of us? That person would eventually starve because there really was no hope of rescue from below. I doubted that we’d be able to get down, especially through that cloud of dust circling the planet, and the pilfered food would eventually run out anyway. The eventual outcome would be the same.
I put that thought out of my mind right away. What was important right now was that someone was stealing food from the rest of us.
David said, “We have two ways to go. We conduct a search, looking for the stashed food, or we hold a meeting so that everyone knows what is happening and see if anyone confesses to us. I doubt we’d get a confession, but we might stop the pilferage that way.”
I laughed. “Seems ridiculous to hide food. There just aren’t that many places to stash much that wouldn’t be obvious if you’ve taken more than a small amount. I think it’s more likely that someone is eating more than he, or she, should.”
“I don’t care how it’s happening,” said David, “I want it to stop now before it becomes serious.”
“I think we’re losing our focus here,” said Sarah. “A little missing food isn’t the real issue. Survival is. How are we going to survive this?”
“Our immediate problem is to stop the pilfering,” said David. “After that we can move on to the bigger problems that face us.”
Although I didn’t understand it right then, I realized later that we were now looking at problems in two ways. One, what could we solve and two, what couldn’t we solve. We were coping with the destruction below us and our inability to return to Earth by finding smaller problems that we could solve. It gave us an obtainable goal. It provided something for us to do rather than worry about the coming end. Learning who was stealing food was one of those simple goals. There were only five who could be doing it and I knew it wasn’t me and I didn’t think it was David or Sarah.
About that time Jason wandered in from one of the observation pods, looked at us suspiciously and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Someone’s stealing food,” said David, evenly.
“It’s not stealing if it belongs to you,” said David without batting an eye.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“There are no names on the food and the supplies weren’t established based on our personal size, needs and metabolism. More of the food should have been allocated for me than for the rest of you because of my metabolism and I have been eating what was designated by the nutritionists on Earth before the launch. I’ve been eating my fair share, reduced by the two-thirds you all have suggested.”
“We’re trying to survive here,” said Sarah, not comprehending what he had said.
“Me too. But I can’t survive on the same amount of food as the rest of you can,” said Jason. “I’m bigger and I require more to eat. If I eat less than I have been, I’ll die quickly. You didn’t calculate that into your formulas when you revised the menus.”
“Everyone gets the same amount of food. We all agreed,” insisted Sarah.
David held up a hand to stop the argument. “Actually Jason has a point here. Given his size and metabolism he does have a need for more food just to stay even with us. We didn’t really take that into account when we came up with our plan though NASA certainly did when they calculated the supplies.”
“So what do we do now, try to figure out how much food each of us requires and divvy it up that way? And how do we make sure no one is eating more than his or her share? Divide it all up like so many sacks of gold and let each person protect his or her stake?”
David said, “That might not be a bad idea. If we can determine, to everyone’s satisfaction what each of us requires and then set aside the portions, we might not have this trouble again.”
I shook my head. “First, I don’t see how we can divide the food without a whole lot of argument . . .”
“Easy,” said David. “We have the nutritional and caloric requirements of each individual. We divide the food based on that. In theory, if there is no rescue, we would all run out of food about the same time.”
“You’ll be setting up a monetary system,” said Sarah. “Food becomes the money here. Those with more food, who hoard his or her share, will have power over those who have less. I can see all sorts of problems developing. Our best course of action is to keep all the food centralized. Prepare the meals carefully and then measure out the portions.”
“I’m not interested in a discussion of advanced economic theory or how to wreck that system,” said David. “I am interested in stopping the food theft right here and right now. That breeds disharmony. That will cause an immediate problem.”
“So does giving each person his share now and not keeping it in a community galley. You’re setting up a system that will be challenged repeatedly, all with disastrous effects.”
“The solution then,” I said, “is just what Sarah has said. We all eat together and we divide the portions based on the nutritional and caloric needs of each person based on the computations made on Earth when none of this was important. Those would be unbiased estimates made by those with expertise in nutrition.”
“Then we fight over that,” said Sarah. “Why should Jason get more food than me? What if I’m not hungry some night so I have food left over? Do you all share that or do I get to keep it until I feel like finishing my meal?”
I wanted to laugh because the discussion was becoming idiotic. “We use the computer to determine, based on the nutritional information how much each person eats and base the meals on that. Everyone gets a fair share without any of us deciding the issue. You then can eat your dinner or save it until you want it. It becomes yours.”
“Then we’re back to a system of barter,” said Sarah. “I eat a little less and then I have food to pay for some service or consideration.”
“Damn it,” snapped David. “We’re not going to be able to solve this to everyone’s satisfaction. I can say that each person must eat his or her share of the meal at the time the food is prepared. If you don’t, then the rest of us can share it. I say that because we can’t afford to throw anything away.”
“We should get Sheila down here,” I said. “If we’re going to institute a policy about food, she should be down here to participate in the creation of that policy.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” said David exasperated. “All I’m saying is that everyone has a specific share based on the computer program. That’ll be the fairest. If someone can hoard food under these conditions, then he or she has more willpower than me. I’ll be eating everything I can, based on those numbers and if there is gravy involved I’ll be licking the container. We just don’t have any extra. Nobody is going to be able to create a stash under these circumstances.”
“What about Sheila?” asked Jason.
“I’ll speak with her myself and tell her that we all believe this is the right thing to do. If she has any objections, then we’ll all meet to hash them out.”
“I’ll bring up the computer programs and run the menus,” I said.
“Let’s not get hasty here,” said David. “Jason, you agree that this is fair?”
He was quiet for a moment, thinking, I suppose, that there had to be some kind of trick. David had agreed with him without any argument and it seemed that he had won his point.
“I suppose so,” he said. “If the computer has designated it and I get the chance to review it.”
We all turned our attention to Sarah. David said, “Then it’s settled?”
“Provided Sheila agrees,” said Sarah.