"A genocide," interrupted Charlotte.
"I wouldn't put it like that," Dr. Baumann followed.
"How exactly would you put it?" asked Charlotte.
"A choice. A decision. A necessary one," said Dr. Baumann.
"Killing people is not an answer. Not the first one, at least," replied Reiner Kastner with a firm voice.
"If There was another option, trust me, I wouldn't be saying this right now," responded Dr. Baumann.
"Then we eliminate every other possible solution first. Then, and only then, we resort to this," said Kastner.
"No," said Charlotte. "this shouldn't even be considered. We should never resort to this,"
"Yeah, and that choice is not ours to make. We have to let everyone decide on it," said Alina Post.
"I disagree." said Erdmann Warner. "We shouldn't let anyone outside of the councils know. Even the candidates that will be chosen, if that plan was resorted to,"
"What about other people? They're the ones getting affected by it," said Herta Wolter.
"It's not their right to decide," Erdmann said. "They gave away that right once the council was elected. And they don't get it back just because it might harm them. They made a decision and they must bear the consequences."
"But this wouldn't hurt them, this would kill them," Herta followed.
Erdmann ignored her and continued, "Even if not everyone deserves the right to choose, Alina is not completely wrong, we should include more people in this decision. Aside from the scientists and members of the council, anyone who is important for survival should have a say."
"What are we even debating about?" Charlotte said. "We shouldn't EVER be thinking about this,"
"The closed section has already agreed to this and picked up the candidates." Mia cline said. "Twenty young men and women would live on should this plan come to action,"
"Young? I'm sure the leaders of the families will not kill themselves," said Charlotte.
"Only one of them will survive, to provide guidance, and we've picked the youngest of them,. And aside from him, no other candidate knows about this plan," Mia replied.
"I think you should hear our solution first," Wagner said.
"And how many does your solution involve killing?" asked Charlotte.
"In the best case, none," answered Wagner.
"In the best case?" Charlotte asked again.
Ignoring her, Wagner said, "There is a shipment of supplies near the northern section gate. The shipment contains enough supplies to sustain the current population for more than four years, which would be enough for the radiation to decrease to a safe level."
Continuing, he said, "I believe that Dr. Wolter's apprentice said they're considering sending a mission to fix something outside. Now, why don't we repurpose that mission to retrieve the shipment of supplies as well?"
Dr. Baumann exhaled sharply. "So we send people outside again, betting everything on a shipment we don't know the condition of."
Mia added, "Dr. Baumann is right. We don't know if the shipment is intact. The radiation outside isn't theoretical. It's been corroding steel, melting composites. And even if it survived, there's no telling what retrieving it would do to the people we send. They might not even make it back."
"We've already wasted nine weeks on failed experiments," Baumann continued, "and now we're talking about sending our last trained personnel out on another gamble. Every hour we waste on dreams is another hour closer to extinction. We don't have time."
Charlotte, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.
"You're right," she said. "Your concerns are completely valid. All of them. Radiation, exposure, time, risk—there's no guarantee any of this will work."
She glanced at Mia and Baumann. "And I know you're tired. I am too. You want certainty because you've seen what failure looks like up close, and you're scared of what another one might cost."
She paused. "But killing everyone isn't certainty. It's surrender. We're weighing one impossible decision against another. And if we go down that road, if we become the kind of people who kill everyone who isn't 'useful,' then what exactly are we preserving?"
Dr. Baumann looked like he might speak, but Charlotte raised a hand.
"I'm not saying we rule it out. If this mission fails, then maybe… maybe it really is the only option left. But we should be able to say, with clear eyes, that we tried everything before we gave up our humanity."
She turned to the rest of the members.
"This plan—this mission—it's a gamble. Yes. But maybe gambling with death is what makes us human. We have to try. If we don't, the survivors we 'save' won't be survivors. They'll just be executioners waiting for the lights to go out."
"I agree, we should try that first. And I don't see a reason why the council would disagree with us," Herta said.
"Whoever is going to pitch this needs to start with the alternative first," Wagner said sarcastically.
"Also, if we send the mission outside, it shouldn't be exclusive. We should let other people join as well. In the best case, they are going to be living here for 5 years straight," Professor Kastner suggested.
Erdmann looked around the table, pausing to take in the faces of the remaining council members.
"Alright," he said. "Thank you all for your honesty. It's not easy talking about any of this—not the risks, not the hope, and especially not the other thing."
He let out a breath.
"We'll present the mission plan to the council. Dr. Wolter's team can decide on the personnel, and once that's done, the preparations will begin."
There was a long pause before he added, quietly but without softness:
"And if this doesn't work… we won't be planning anything after that. We'll just be burying ourselves quietly."
Erdmann declared the meeting finished, and one by one, they all left the room.