Every prediction model yielded the same result: rainfall in the next year would be almost nonexistent, and crops would be poor.
Already, though, the colonists had settled in for a happy winter, with all their usual pursuits, which meant more mouths to feed with next year’s harvest — which meant malnutrition for all. The numbers did not lie.
If, however, there were fewer women to give birth, the colony would survive another year. Decision made, protocol FMN-03 adjusted the nutritional parameters for the kitchen in the women’s dorm. They could eat, drink, and be merry; there would be no children.
Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of four (obviously) – see the drabble First Horseman for Erin’s Author’s Note.
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