Chapter Forty – Real Politics

Chapter Forty – Real Politics

“I don’t know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, people split along two lines. And yeah, I know, that’s a generalization, which means it’s generally wrong. Anyway, on the one side, you got those that understood the more pragmatic side of politics, the realpolitik and the reasoning behind some of the bullshit.

Anyway, I don’t have time for all that political stuff.”

–Jerry Grant, political commentator, 2045

***

Mayor Dupont looked at me for a long moment before saying anything. “Is that why you’re here? To ask that the city does something about this mess you caused in the sewers?”

“Two things,” I said, my hand coming up in a peace symbol. “First, I didn’t cause the mess. The lack of foresight in letting a literal gang of self-mutilating lunatics take care of the sewage caused the mess. Second, I’m not here to ask, I’m here to inform you, personally, that shit’s about to hit the fan.”

“And that’s a concern for me?”

I blinked. “Are you dumb?” I asked. “No, you can’t be. Not if you got this fancy office and morning blow jobs. I’ll bet you’re corrupt as fuck, but you need to be able to put two and two together.”

Dupont placed his fists on his desk and glared before leaning back. “Let’s presume that this sewer problem isn’t your fault, which I’ll only treat as a hypothetical. What do you expect the city to do?”

“Isn’t the entire goal of the city to take care of… you know, the city? Roads and power lines and building permits and sewage?”

“No, the purpose of the city as a governmental institution is to make a profit by means of taxation and regulation. Punishing those who fail to comply with our rules and lubricating the economic machine for those who require assistance.”

“What?” I asked.

“That means that yes, we take care of infrastructure, because we are better situated to take care of that infrastructure than the companies which need it to exist.”

I shook my head. “Alright, I don’t get it.”

He sighed. “Then go take a civics course and get out of my office.”

“No, and no,” I said. I tried to cross one leg over the other, but that wasn’t exactly possible in power armour. “Come on, explain it to me using small words.”

The mayor rolled his eyes. I liked him better when he was less sarcastic and more scared shitless. “Imagine a road. That road needs to be built, which costs money. It needs to be maintained, which also costs money. Hundreds of thousands of credits, all poured into this road. If it’s never used, then it’s a loss. But if it is used, then that money might not be lost.”

“Lot of emphasis, there,” I said.

“It depends on who uses it, doesn’t it? Some normal citizens? Do you know how much we make in taxes from the average citizen in this city? Barely enough to cover the expenses in this building alone. The real money comes from taxing the important players who use the city’s infrastructure. The companies and corporations that need those roads to make their businesses work.”

I nodded. I got the gist of it, at least. “And that’s why you won’t fix the sewers?”

“Oh, if things are as fucked as you imply, then of course the good city of New Montreal will make an effort to maintain and repair what we can. We provide a service to the corporations that inhabit this city. We take care of things so they don’t have to, and because the cost of those things is defrayed across the entire population and across every company based on their use of said infrastructure, it’s a fair cost. There’s always some grumbling and cheating, but I’m not a fucking moron—I can tell when someone’s cutting me short, and I know how to put the squeeze on their bottom line.”

He chuckled darkly.

“You can’t imagine how quickly a company will turn around and pay up when they can’t move any cargo from one factory to the next because every road around them is under permanent construction, or if their internet is cut off for a day or two.”

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I sighed and shook my head. Was he trying to waste my time? Not that the discussion wasn’t interesting; it actually was. I could see why Dupont got the seat. It wasn’t his looks or his incredible slut powers, that was for sure. The guy just had a lot of charisma once he got going… somehow. “You know, every minute we spend not acting is another minute that passes with the entire water system for the city on the verge of collapsing.”

“And every credit that isn’t taxed is a worthless one. Are you going to cover the cost of repairing the system?”