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Previously published as: Hart, G. 2021. Tradeoffs: a Drabble Tryptich. Flash in a Flash episode 147: 5 March 2021.
The coal miners were in an ugly mood as they confronted the oil barons. “Mining employs hundreds of men to produce enough energy to drive the mills. Oil flows from the ground on its own. Where’s the employment in that?”
“It’s not about employment, as such,” the lawyer of former coal barons proclaimed. “There will soon be new jobs. Better jobs. Safer jobs. The air will be cleaner. Oil produces no soot and dust to choke our children in their cribs! Any technological change is scary. But trust us.”
The miners had no choice but to adapt, albeit with reservations.
***
“Direct conversion of matter into energy could save us all.”
“Or damn us.”
“I don’t see the problem. How could it possibly do that? Every new scientific breakthrough has some risk. Trust us!”
“Not this level of risk.”
“I don’t see the problem.”
“Six words: Direct conversion of planets into energy.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be a good thing. But why not focus on the upside potential? Farewell to the greenhouse effect and climate change. Farewell to geopolitical games over access to fossil fuel deposits, and farewell to the petroindustrial complex!”
“Converting Earth into energy would certainly accomplish that.”
“Trust us!”
***
This far in the future, what had once, long ago, been humans no longer spoke anything recognizably like English. But if they had, the dialogue would have sounded something like this:
“We are confident that vacuum energy will provide enough energy to keep the growing cold and dark at bay. To keep us warm until our greatest minds find better alternatives.”
“But surely there will be side-effects. There’s no free lunch, after all.”
“Trust us! For the first time in our checkered history, we are certain there will be no harmful externalities.”
With no alternatives, perforce they agreed—with reservations.
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