III

by Brian W. Aldiss


Good evening. I am speaking to you as the visual representative of the III, late
San Mondesancto Liquefaction Company, the legal owners of the satellite  Europa,
the most valuable property in the Jupiter area of our solar system.

The illustrious history of our company goes  back a long way. As you will  know,
San Mondesancto was founded on Earth in  1990. We have always been a company  of
high integrity, as well as believers in free trade. At the time of our founding,
when we took over the Shanghai and Orient Banking Systems, an approaching crisis
in the form of a global water  shortage had scarcely 'hit the headlines', as  we
used  to say.  It was,  of course,  .known to  many government  agencies in  the
developed nations of the world. We laid our plans accordingly.

During  that early  period, NASA  made a  remarkable discovery.  NASA, I  should
remind you, stood for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It  was
the predecessor of the III, our International Interplanetary Industries.  NASA's
Lunar Prospector Mission detected millions of  tonnes of ice at the lunar  polar
regions.

'Within the limited technologies  of the time, there  was no way that  these ice
fields could be exploited. This was where the genius of San Mondesancto entered.
By  judicious investment  through various  holding companies,  we established  a
small fleet of remotely  operated space-faring vehicles. Without  human freight,
the space-vehicles  were comparatively  cheap to  run, and  were soon  installed
above  both  lunar  poles. Pumping  stations  went  immediately into  operation,
drilling to depths of twenty-three metres.

The terrestrial shortage of fresh water was meanwhile taking hold. Many areas in
previously fertile nations were  reduced to drought or  semi-drought conditions,
while, more importantly, the industry of wealthy nations was impeded.

San Mondesancto offered to supply Earth's G7 nations with an initial two million
tonnes of fresh fossil water per week, delivered in solid form, in exchange  for
pumping rights in desalination plants over the rest of the world. By a series of
ambitious deals, the company gained control over Earth's primary water supplies.
The operator here was our subsidiary, Tubulability pie.

Through  another  of  our  subsidiary  companies,  Aerial  Irrigations  Inc.,  a
successful strategy of cloud-ionisation permitted us ninety-one per cent control
of precipitation from  the air. An  early victory was  the inhibition of  annual
monsoons,  which could  reduce the  underlying countries  to desert  conditions,
unless prosperous countries such as India  paid a marginal fee of a  few million
rupees per year.

Operating  unusual   caution  and   exerting  only   democratic  and  capitalist
principles,  San  Mondesancto had,  by  the middle  of  last century,  virtually
complete control over all terrestrial climates.

However, the  company's plans  were much  more ambitious.  We have always prided
ourselves on our far-sightedness.

It was perceived from the very beginning of our operations on the Moon that  the
ice locked there offered immense benefits  for the future conquest of the  solar
system. There, San  Mondesancto has always  been among the  foremost developers,
operating under the  name International Interplanetary  Industries. Many of  the
best  young  men  and  women  and androids  have  been  proud  to  join the  San
Mondesancto ranks.

Unusual living organisms,  some multi-celled, had  been discovered in  the lunar
icefields. These had been quietly exterminated, so that progress and development
were not impeded.  A few of  our top company  scientists, however, had  observed
that these tokens  of alien life  held the promise  of other aliens  existing on
other  astronomical bodies,  which could  be utilised  as foodstuffs  in  future
ventures.

From the lunar H2O, a process  of hydrolysis separated the oxygen and  hydrogen.
The  hydrogen  provided  an  essential  for  rocket  fuel.  The  oxygen provided
breathable atmosphere for vehicles with two-man crews. These vehicles, using the
planet Mars  as a  slingshot operation,  made the  long haul  away from Earth to
Jupiter. It has always  been a source of  pride that San Mondesancto  ships were
the first to arrive  on the satellite Europa.  Our slogan, 'San Mondesancto  Got
There First', dates from that time. True, one crew was lost from the ice  floes,
but the other two crews survived to make good the claim.

Preliminary reconnaissance of this  moon confirmed that beneath  Europa's broken
and icy surface lay a global ocean. Sonic measurements indicated that this ocean
was fifteen to eighteen kilometres  deep in places. Moreover, the  gravitational
effect of the great striped gas planet looming in Europa's skies had caused  the
ocean to warm considerably.

Cracks  and chasms  between the  ice floes  showed a  teeming life  ofkrill-like
creatures, barely two millimetres long. When cooked and cautiously tasted,  they
proved edible, if rather flavourless. During this food trial, a large head burst
through the ice. It  was streamlined, its fur  was thick and white,  with mobile
pink nostrils. Its whiskers were long.  The general impression was of a  dolphin
crossed with a kitten.

A report at  the time -  censored because it  was unconfirmed and   inconvenient
- said that  the creature tapped  on the ice  as if signalling.  It did not stay
because to remain in airless conditions would have proved lethal.

The San  Mondesancto crew  became alert.  One man,  armed, was  venturing out to
inspect the beast closely,  but it disappeared with  a swirl of water  before he
could capture it.

They called the brute a splunger, and the name has stuck.

That incident marks the modest beginning  of operations for what has become  our
foremost company,  Canquistador. Within  five years,  it had  become the biggest
cannery company in the entire system, bar none.

We still speak of splungers, although they are now extinct. Unfortunately,  they
were over-fished, along with other  denizens of the Europan deep.  Nevertheless,
splungers and krill  fed many brave  explorers of the  far reaches of  the solar
system, as well as the factory slaves on Mars.

During this period,  San Mondesancto's name  became widely reviled  among an ill
-informed  public. In  order to  establish better  relations, the  name of   our
founding company was phased out. Henceforth, we have become better known as III,
the International Interplanetary Industries.

Not until Triton, the moon of  Neptune, was reached, was another source  of food
discovered. This again was an III discovery. The flabbers clearly had a language
of sorts, with  which they endeavoured  to communicate, although  their I.Q. was
regarded as low. It was only  later that their extraordinary city, known  to men
as Ultimate  City, was  found. Intelligent  or not,  the flabbers were certainly
tasty, and  greatly benefited  mankind -  thanks to  Ill's mighty  sub-division,
Canquistador.

Now the first III starship, under the logo III, is being launched from the orbit
of Pluto. It will  carry mankind's civilisation into  the galaxy - and  the name
and fame of III to the very stars themselves.

Thank you for listening, ladies and gentlemen.