Next up: An actual brief. Written by overselves this was the initial impetous for the fictional dialouge shown below beyond the sketch.
Brief:
If I take a cynical view of the Government of the future, the regime who is to establish a ‘ministry of science,’ then it is to be just an extrapolation forward from our current heading.
The opposite of Science is Myth. An unsubstantiated story.
By this logic my Ministry for Science exists to support the production of misinformation, to misdirect the public.
If the Government considers GM crops, for instance, to be a good thing then it is from this building that the reports supporting their safety will issue.
"It will exist like a spider at the centre of a web of information, it’s continued existence reliant on its ability weave a network of tales about itself via all media, but especially through the ether, the intangible but powerful Internet. To use a hyper reality- a stretching of the truth by over saturating the field of data.
An Augmented-Reality-Array."
The sketch below was what came out of the above. Very quickly though once the Government the announced it's intent to push through 10 new nuclear power stations my focus moved to one of nuclear power on our site.
Minister/Visitor Dialogue
10:50 October 23rd 2019
The Ministers’ office, Ministry of Science, Millbank, London
An aide enters, enquiring of the woman behind the desk; “Minister?”
She looks up, “Yes Rupert?”
The young man looks apologetic;”Your 11 o’clock is here, the delegation from...”
She cuts him off “Shit yes, Greenpeace. I’d forgotten” She sighs deeply, “Give me 5 minutes to prepare and then let them in will you?”
The woman sweeps her desk clear of the papers she had been working from, and tucking stray wisps from a bob of dark hair behind her ears she begins brusquely tapping away on the surface of her desk, the flat light-board illuminated there pulsing at her touch. After a few moments of this she sits back and appears to be reading intently. A glance at an antique clock above the door and she stops and stands. Wearily the woman makes her way over to the polygon of a guarded window which dominates one side of the room, she is slight, her figure accentuated by a well fitted blue-gray suit, her stature well augmented by high heeled boots.
A knock at the door is heard, the woman turns “Come!”
Rupert enters again, this time followed by a tall man, a woman and another male.
Rupert steps forward to make the introductions, “Chairman McGregor may I introduce the Minister for Science, Doctor Danielle George.”
Danielle steps forward, and grasps the man’s’ hand, she gives a curt nod; “Chairman”
“A pleasure Minister”, he retorts “May I introduce the head of our anti-nuclear team, Paramjit Panesar and an intern and scribe for today, William.”
“Welcome, all of you, please be seated.”
From abreast the settling clutch of people Rupert, stutters, “Would any of you like a drink?”
“Yes thank you” replies Danielle, I’ll have the usual camomile” She looks at the others, “Chairman?”
Thank, you no Minister.”
“Huh, alright” She leans back, “So, Mr McGregor, please would you mind presenting again your agencies arguments against this Governments’ current policy for nuclear power generation?”
“Minister, you are quite aware of th-” He is cut off with a laconic wave from the woman behind the desk.
“Humour me”
The intern immediately starts fumbling in his pockets and removes a mobile, or something like it, and holds it toward McGregor as he talks.
“I don’t see why, but considering you asked so nicely… Firstly the too few big plants you have built have provided no significant reduction in the nations’ CO2 emissions, of the 10 new reactors promised by 2024 barely 6 are on-grid and there are only 5 years left! The program is way over budget and less and less is being spent annually on renewables!
Secondly there is the waste produced, we have more than we can ever hope to process and I have seen leaked reports of contamination in the North Sea, the half-life of this stuff means it will remain active for almost a million years, how can we leave that behind for humanity, should the race even make it that far?
Finally, quite understandably these new reactors are all by the coast, but with the level of sea-level rise we have experienced, does this now seem like such a good idea? Within 80 years and they might be underwater, also-“
Secondly there is the waste produced, we have more than we can ever hope to process and I have seen leaked reports of contamination in the North Sea, the half-life of this stuff means it will remain active for almost a million years, how can we leave that behind for humanity, should the race even make it that far?
Finally, quite understandably these new reactors are all by the coast, but with the level of sea-level rise we have experienced, does this now seem like such a good idea? Within 80 years and they might be underwater, also-“
“Thank you. Tell how might you organization react if we, this department were too start lobbying for nation-wide, decentralised power generation on a neighbourhood by neighbourhood basis?”
“Well we’d be delighted but I still don’t quite understand what this has to do with-“
“McGregor these new neighbourhood micro-plants are to be nuclear powered.”
A stunned silence follows
“You are quite aware that this very building is powered by a reactor aren’t you?”
“Yes quite aware Minister, I have to drag Ms. Panesar in here by force every time”
“Well these new units would be much smaller than that, on a par with RTG’s. Some actually would be radioisotope based thermo-electric generators, and others would be fission based. We have drawn up plans for powering the whole London
With a hum a black pod suspended above their heads reveals itself as a projector by throwing out a map in light on the opposite wall. The delegates turn uncomfortably in their chairs and gasp. McGregor stands and stares before turning back to the Minister, thumping his fists on her desk he looms over her.
“You’re crazy! The whole lotta’ yah! You will never get this past the Lords, let alone the media! You are proposing to seed the whole of the capital with targets purpose made for the local terrorist cell”
A terse grin briefly flashes across Danielles’ mouth, and the smile would have quite alluring had her eyes not revealed the cold determination behind it.
“I can assure you these new units will be quite safe, I have some very impressive videos of destruction tests we carried out at Devonport if you would like to see them. As for the media, I don’t expect them to be much of a problem, we have after all been dealing with them in this capacity for almost 10 years. We have become quite good at it Chairman. We made them swallow both the 3rd runway and the new complex in the estuary for instance, not to mention the Olympic Legacy debacle”
“What debacle?!”
“Exactly.”
Panasar, who had so far remained silent but had become increasing red-faced as the meeting continued finally speaks.
“Well Minister I believe the Chairman has out-lined Greenpeaces’ view on this matter, I would threaten to fight this every step of the way, but frankly I don’t think it will ever leave the hallowed halls of that ancient building next-door, now if you don’t mind I’m getting out of this carcinogenic ministry of lies. Good Afternoon.”
She turns and leaves, McGregor sighs, “Apologies Dr George, but I’m inclined to agree with her, you no doubt will be hearing from us or our activists in due course”
He leaves, and the intern follows closing the door behind him.
Danielle relaxes back into her chair with another sigh, and mutters “Could have been worse” to herself
After a few moments Rupert enters, eye-brows raised, a steaming mug of tea in his hand. Placing it on the desk in front of the Minister, he asks;
“I could hear most of that in my office, you did say to expect fireworks but you rarely have delegates that agitated.”
“I know Rupert, I couldn’t have expected them to like it, it is a radical policy, but I know that the boys and girls in grey in the offices down stairs can turn things around, I have faith in the Department, as should you.”
“Yes Minister, Science Protects. Enjoy your tea.”
“Thank you Rupert, I certainly shall.”
