Externalities

Lights were dimmed, junior logisticians shuffled out, and stenographer-wardum sacrificed. Lho-sticks were lit. The atmosphere within the committee became even more stultifying than when they were discussing Kāṣiru's skull shortage. With his ceremonial hood up, sub-superintendent-superior-16th-order-with-qualifications A'annepada reopened discussion:

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ugallu," A'annepada solemnly intoned, his face grave, his arms clasped and laid out on the table before him, his lean body hunched forward. "What is said henceforth cannot leave this room. Our activities have generated... externalities. Zagesi will fill in details."

Another logistician leant forward as A'annepada receded back into the shadows of his armchair. Zagesi was a tiny bespectacled middle aged woman, with hair tied back into a prim bun. She terrified everyone.

"Gratitude, sixteen-times-honoured sub-superintendent-superior. Six half-quarters ago, Guabba's branch of the Office for Ceremonial Calculations' leyline prospecting paid off. A site of great ritual-efficacy was identified on the banks of the Idigna. Initial symbolo-statistical-divinations suggested carrying out sacrifices there would maintain constant ritual energy production with a 16% reduction in sacrificial vessels, freeing up wardum for manufactora-labour. In fact, it was a 22% reduction in vessels, and a subsequent 3% increase in shoulder-pad spike output. A huge boon to our expected murder-per-moment ratio."

"However, four half-quarters ago mass violence erupted in Larsa, roughly 700 gi downstream of the OCC's ritual site. It seems effluent from the sacrificial vessels entered their drinking-water supply, enhancing rage. Fortunately, since Larsa's local logisticians were not able to connect the events, they took the occurrence as simple pious enthusiasm."

A new voice, evidently youthful from its cadence, asked whether the loss of wardum reduced Larsa's MPM. Zagesi calmly replied:

"Actually, quite the opposite. Their planned work generated far fewer expected murders-per-moment than the direct contributions of their rampages."

The same questioner thus probed why this was even a problem. Zagesi's glared, speaking slowly as if to a child:

"Suppose Urukite command finds out we have, in the midst of a skull shortage, been sitting for multiple half-quarters on a means of boosting expected-MPM 40% simply by redirecting effluent. An effluent we under-produced and under-exploited because we simply failed to account for it in our forecasts. Are you old enough to recall the mandatory-viewing pictcasts of what was done to Dilmun's central-planning-committee when they failed Uruk for the first-and-last time? Do you think they shall be any more generous to us than I was to the OCC logisticians who wanted to report all this to command?"

(Zagesi had a glint in her eye as she said this last, whereas one could just about make out A'annepada's silhouette shudddering.)

A'annepada leant forward and broke the momentary silence:

"Our laxity on this matter cannot ever come to light. Our task tonight is to work out how to recreate in the aggregate the late OCC's efficiency gains without raising suspicion. Now, if you'll turn to appendix 9-i on page 81 of your briefing document,"

Outside the smoke-filled room there was a crack of thunder as the dire-canid howled.