The Council

The members of the august world body had been at it for more than six hours of often rancorous debate and insensitive interjections. Reports were waved around, facts were bandied about. Each speaker claimed to have the ultimate statistics. Truth was, nobody really know how many people in the world were affected and how many were still safe.

When he had had enough, the President interrupted one of the members just as he was about to commence his speech, telling him to can it.

It can wait till tomorrow, the President said. People will continue to die tonight. People will continue to be born tonight. People will continue to die and be reborn tonight. Nothing you have to say here can prevent that, but you can go out and do something about it. So let’s close today’s session, go about our work in the night and get back to it tomorrow.

There was almost unanimous agreement among the delegates. All of them were feeling the urge, the lust. Only the delegate who had been about to speak when the President interrupted wanted to continue, at till he had delivered his speech.

He was ignored.

They wrapped up and trudged out, the reborn members of the UN Security Council and their army of aides. There was work to do, and lots of it.

There were so many people in the world still uninfected.