When the full staff was assembled, Wilson stood up and faced the
group.

"This won't take too long," he began, "but it's a problem that I want
all of you to be considering during the next fifteen days because we
have to come up with a reasonable solution to the problem--just
another one that's been dumped in our laps."

He pressed a button on his desk and a mural, three-dimensional
typographical map of the five-state Region Six flashed on the wall
behind him. Across the top of the map was a line of illuminated
numerical panels that shifted in values before their eyes, changing
with the factor information constantly being fed into the computers.
These were the constant monitoring reports from the regional computers
on snow pack, moisture content, streamflow, water consumption and
other that formulated the equations that the forecasters and ration
controllers user in determining water supply allocations.

Hundreds of multi-colored lights on the map indicated industrial,
municipal, domestic and agricultural water use facilities.

"We've been asked to assist in the critical situation in Region Five,"
Wilson continued. "Region Five included California, Nevada, Arizona
and Utah. As you've seen from the combined western forecasts, snow
pack has been much below normal this year in Region Five and has for
the past three years. We've been piping a lot of water down the line
and so far, they've been able to meet demands. But a new factor has
entered.

"For the past three years, again as many of you are aware, Space
Department has been gearing for the start of Venus Colony. I'm not
expert in this field but from what friends of mine who are closely
associated with the project tell me, there's a big difference in
building a vehicle to carry a survey and exploration team and the
technology involved in building both vehicles and life-support
equipment for a colony operation. All of which leads up to the current
problem.

"Our friends in Space have now firmed up the specialized equipment
they want and the quantities. Prototype of all of this gear have been
built and tested, mostly fabricated by the Southern California Space
and Electronics Complex. Now they're ready to go into production. But
the fly in the ointment is that it calls for five new production
units.

"With the Southern Cal Complex operating under water deficits plus
transmission costs for the past three years and with no improvement in
sight, they just don't hav