Finance Report

Benedict d’Argent surveyed the impressive number of people gathered for the year’s final meeting. He realised, as did everyone else in the room, that there would be no others, not next year nor the years after that. As he mounted the rostrum, the small lecture theatre immediately fell into a deathly silence. Benedict realised this was not only due to his position as Chief Global Financial Executive, but in expectation of his offering that most precious commodity of all, hope. He could not resist the temptation to take a drink of water from the bottle on the lectern. It was not processed but real, pure water that must have been kept in storage for some time, since it could no longer be found naturally.

“Fellow investors, thank you for attending our last general meeting,” he paused, his voice becoming solemn, “our very last general meeting.” There was a murmur from the audience as his opening line had confirmed what they dreaded but knew to be true. “I realise that you have sacrificed time you could have spent with loved ones.” Benedict looked into individual faces; many of those in the audience had brought their families with them rather than endure what would almost certainly be a fruitless attempt to return to their homes; most of these being several hundred miles distant. Roads were rapidly becoming impassable as tens or even hundreds of thousands tried to go elsewhere, anywhere, that may give them security. They searched in vain. The absentees, not wishing to face the dangerous highways, had opted to stay at home, praying that marauding bands would target someone else’s house and move on, leaving them safe in the naïve belief that they had gathered in sufficient food to sustain them through the crisis. The more perceptive absentees had acquired the means for a rapid and painless exit in pill or bullet form.

Benedict took another sip of water. “Time, I am afraid, is now rapidly dwindling for humanity. Nevertheless, it is my intention to give a broad outline of the situation in which we find ourselves. Meetings such as this are taking place in the major capitals of almost every nation, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Djakarta, Beijing, Washington, the list goes on; and we can but pray that our colleagues in Moscow are able to meet.”

This was a stark reminder of the horrendous situation in Eastern Europe where the peoples of the Eastern Russian states had fought over and exhausted the rapidly diminishing food, water and other resources. Thousands upon thousands had been killed in the fighting. As fuel ran out for vehicles, more and more continued on foot, forming factions for mutual support as the masses moved inexorably westward, ravaging the land. Murder, arson, theft, rape had now become the norm. The latest communications pointed to hundreds of thousands falling victim to the seething hordes that were within two days of Moscow. Nothing more had been heard.

“Let me say that life is not fair. We who are gathered here represent the best in humanity’s endeavours. Throughout its growth, mankind has always included those who have promoted the growth of trade. Without this we would have had no production, no scientific development, no profits. Without us there would have been stagnation, an eternal dark age. We were once lauded, applauded, honoured, feted by those we managed, directed and organised. Without us, governments would have had no power, and society would have had no direction.” Here he paused, wanting the next few words to be clearly heard. “For decades, no, centuries, we and our forefathers gave relative peace and stability to the world.” The precise meaning of ‘relative’ could have been discussed ad infinitum, but no-one seemed to care as the audience burst into applause. This, ironically, drowned out the noise of an explosion near the building, although screams were discernible for some minutes afterwards.

“Some of us tried to recoup our losses or maintain profits through recycling enterprises but the demand for raw materials has grown exponentially. Some politicians have even tried to convince the world that recycling and controlled depopulation was the answer. Fools! How could they not see that a smaller population means a reduction in demand, reduced profits, lower investment? What was needed was pruning, not shrinkage. I say again, fools!

Many of us have been subjected to senseless abuse, we have been verbally and physically attacked based only on the quality of the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, our lifestyles. I tell those plebeians that we have done nothing without their acquiescence. For did we not give them what they wanted most, democracy, and with it the freedom to strive for survival, to better themselves through competition in obtaining food, clothes, cars, homes? Our way of life gave them the right to vote for a government of their choice and those governments turned to us for funding, financial stability and power. We have done nothing of which we should feel ashamed. It is not our fault that the world has limited resources. It was not and is not ready for superior minds such as ours.”

Benedict was gratified by the applause and loud shouts of encouragement. He waited for the noise to abate before continuing in a more subdued tone. “However, I now turn to my own efforts.” Benedict took a long gulp from his water bottle. “Since taking on my role as Chief Global Financial Executive I have tried unsuccessfully to convince the masses that the world could be saved. It would have required only a small sacrifice on their part: more expensive and smaller dwellings, processed food and water, restricted travel. All this was possible and would have maintained our profits, our way of life. Instead, our rational pleas for sanity were ignored, choosing to waste their efforts on futile attempts to build sea walls and underground shelters. None of them accepted that the weakest were the poorest and that these have always been expendable. A culling of mankind was necessary in order to ensure that those remaining would always have sufficient capital to exchange for life’s necessities. This would have been a natural process brought about through natural events such as, floods, forest fires and disease, but affecting only those least capable of resisting and therefore surplus to economic needs.”

At this point Benedict paused, once more allowing his words to sink in and once again being rewarded with many voices of approval. “I was not successful in this. On my watch the financial world crumbled and many stock exchanges have either ceased to exist or are about to do so……………..and for this, and this alone, I am truly sorry.”