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The Hidden
Mars? (Isis)

Mars? (Isis)

"I do not recall us maintaining an emergency spacecraft we could use to colonize Mars."

Oberon looks old, stretched thin. The Fey are not immortal, though they live long, and Oberon currently looks every minute of his 2000 years. "Even if such a craft existed, it would not carry the entirety of any one of our populations."

"It wouldn't have to," I counter, "We would simply need to set anchor points for teleportation and porting."

He nods, "If we had fairy circles set up on the other side, we could open portals to them and evacuate that way. We would only need to send a small crew to set up a habitat and build fairy circles." He reaches for a paper and pen from the center of the conference table, "How big would the habitat need to be? How many do we have?"

"At last census one hundred years ago, there were approximately a million members across the magical races."

He looks up at me, startled. "Our last census was one hundred years ago?"

"Yes."

"How did we let it go for so long?"

"Our populations don't grow much, there hasn't been a need."

He looks exasperated, "That was before many of the races chose to mingle with humans! Things have changed."

I get up and take a square of dark chocolate from the buffet along the wall, and take a small bite before responding. "Why would that matter?"

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"With new blood, many populations have grown. The dragons and werewolves specifically have grown their populations. We have as well."

"Can we estimate an amount?" I take another small bite of the chocolate.

"Maybe 1.1 or 1.2 million." He writes it down, and keeps writing. A glance at his paper shows me he is estimating structure size and provisions necessary for a group that large. He sighs, "I am not the person to be doing this. For an evacuation of this scale, we need scientists and planners for the structures and terraforming. And we need someone who knows people well to devise the evacuation plan."

I slide him another piece of paper, "Who do we need?"

He takes it and starts writing. After twenty minutes, he slides me the paper. "We still don't have an anthropologist. Ideally, we should get one that has recently spent time in the human world. They will be able to tell us which countries to evacuate first, and how to get everyone out quickly."

I hum in agreement. "We have one of those here."

"We do? Who?"

"The young vampire locked up with Poseidon's girl. She was an anthropologist before she was turned."

"But she is so young."

"Yes, and she grew up among this cohort of humans. She will know more about the countries of the world and their machinations than any of us could acquire given the time we currently have." I turn the paper back to face him and slide it closer on the table, my finger on a name. "Do we really need this one?"

Oberon looks at the paper, then gives me a hard look. "I don't think any venture of this scale will succeed at all its goals without Loki being a key part. His ability to extrapolate data puts some seers to shame. Without him, I estimate less than a fifty percent chance of success."

I get up and cross to the door, then turn to the guards on the other side. "Go to cell one and bring the young vampire here."

They say their "Yes Elder"s, salute, and leave.

I turn back to Oberon, "I guess we should find him soon, then."