Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 458: God’s answer to the apocalypse.

Hades immediately raised his voice. "Hey, you two. Do not turn this into something it is not. There will be no belittling of anyone’s opinions. These meetings happen for this very reason...to trade thoughts and come up with actionable solutions."

Two soldiers burst into Jon’s office.

They grabbed Sheldon by the arms and started dragging him out. Jon looked confused.

Sheldon struggled and yelled at the drone that was perched on Jon’s desk. "You can’t ban me from the meeting; I gave you a four hundred-thousand-dollar Imperial Dawn Table. It was once owned by King George in the 1800’s."

As his voice faded, Warren and Lisha could not keep from laughing.

"I told you there was a catch when he gave us that table." Lisha said.

Jon muttered apologies meanwhile.

Father Nicodemus went on with what he had been saying, seeming unfazed by all that had transpired. "In my humble opinion, which has nothing to do with mercy or faith, I say we help. Aid is a seed. If planted wisely, it grows into trust. Sometimes, that trust becomes an alliance. If we withhold even the smallest bit of help, resentment will grow. People will not see Fortress four as a shelter or a neighbor."

"An alliance with beggars, oh goodie!" a woman’s sarcastic voice came from Sheldon’s office.

Some people recognized it to be Tracy Kingsley. Contrary to their expectations, she did not appear appear on the screen.

"How many people have you smuggled into this meeting?" Major Elio exclaimed.

"Apologies, my wife is napping on the couch." Jon replied. "Sheldon was the only one I smuggled in."

Father Nicodemus raised his voice. "You call then beggars, I call them human. There are starving children out there. A little aid to save them will not dry our pockets.

I believe in Sunshine’s project in Busker. God has worked many miracles through her. I believe that she could maybe feed the whole world someday.

She is feeding us for free...mostly. How then can we stop her from feeding others?"

Ariel looked up from his papers. "But if we give too much, Fortress four dies. My mom’s project in Busker is still in a trial phase; it has not produced results yet. While I appreciate your faith in her Father, I would rather rely more on the numbers we have currently. Numbers don’t lie. If we cut our grain in half, we won’t last more than two years." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sunshine’s gaze swept around the table. "So, the question is not aid but balance. How much can we give with the smallest risk."

There was silence. People waiting for her final decision.

But the next words came from Hades. "We have some grain that is not accounted for by our supply manager. I think we can give out ten percent without bleeding ourselves dry."

Sunshine turned to her husband, surprised. He had secret grain! Where?

Hadrian sighed. "There goes the secret stash. It is our emergency grain. We will only give enough to help. To buy goodwill. Nothing that will cripple our emergency reserves."

Dr. Choi and Father Nicodemus nodded.

Jon leaned forward eagerly. "Now can we discuss the opening of the market? Trade is our future. It will bring in taxes and wealth."

Dominic shook his head. "Open markets mean chaos. Outsiders will demand more than what they give. I heard everything about the Scorpion incident. These marauders will disguise themselves as traders, map our defenses and then return and attack us."

"We know all this." Major Elio said.

Carson nodded. "The risks are there, but the fortress cannot remain a fortress forever. We can come up with security measures. Like limiting the number of traders that can enter our territory in a day."

"We can sell them trading licenses that allow them access the fortress. market." Jon spoke with enthusiasm. "Not everybody needs to come in, just those who can prove that they have financial strength. At some airports, if one was entering the country to do business, they would show physical cash or display their account balance."

"Again, marauders can show cash and infiltrate the base." Dominic said with a growl. "While you think of your pockets, I am thinking of my wife and child. Do we really need trade to survive? Inviting strangers into our walls is foolish." If he had not invited Moon into his Camp Zenith, his children would not be dead.

The debate raged for two hours, voices rising and falling. Heat sneaked into the room. Those who were not dressed in their bodysuits started to sweat despite the air conditioning.

Ariel’s numbers were consulted; Dominic’s warning were repeated. Father Nicodemus remained quiet. Hadrian winced as his thoughts remained with the secret grain. Jon promised that he and the billionaires would shoulder the expense for security and pay more in taxes.

Finally, Sunshine stood. The room fell silent.

"I am tired and we don’t seem to be reaching an agreement." She said with exhaustion. "So, here is what we are going to do. Aid will be delivered by heavily armed soldiers, and word will spread that Fortress four is God’s answer to the apocalypse. It will help us soften our neighbors and allow easy infiltration into their territories."

She paused, her voice hardening. "As for the market--we will open it in three days. But outside our walls. Those with significant financial strength will be allowed in the outer yard of the outer wall in Westbrook. They will be under guard. No weapons, no phones, no toilet breaks, no entry beyond the first gates. Trade will be taxed. Fortress four will grow stronger."

Her eyes swept the committee. "I know that not all of you are pleased with this decision, but Carson is right. We cannot remain a fortress forever.

We have the means to protect ourselves. It would be cowardly to lock ourselves in here because it feels safe. Remember, if our fortress ever falls, we will have to join others out there and do our best to survive.

If we have already spread some of our technology and gained a good reputation, it will be beneficial for us."

The room remained silent as people pondered on the truth of her words. Indeed, if their walls fell or the base was destroyed, they would be running to their neighbors first.

If their neighbors resented them, they would not help them. Maybe, they would even kill them. So, a sprinkle of mercy and a title of good neighbor was not necessarily bad.

"Damn," Warren shook his head. "Sister-in-law, I knew you were cooking something behind the aid thing. Turns out you are making preparations for emergency. If you had started with this, we would have agreed as soon as you brought this up."

Others nodded.

Even Dominic was convinced.

Sunshine sat down. "I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am exhausted. We should continue the rest of the meeting in the evening or tomorrow."

Jon ended his participation immediately.

Lisha raised her head. "So, we are not going to discuss Tracy Kingsley’s request for a license to open up an elite matchmaking agency for the wealthy and superhumans only!"

Sunshine turned so quickly that she nearly snapped her neck. "A what?"

Lisha smiled. Her lips curled at the edges, a sly crescent that promised something even wilder. "And she has posters printed and ready to go. Care to guess who the couple on the poster is?"