Buck was pacing in his unit. There had to be a way to secure additional food disks for Wilma, he refused to give up. He concluded that he really didn't know much about the food system in New Chicago, so he decided to start with that. The more information he had the better. After a few more turns in the unit "Marilee Hawthorne" he said aloud,
Buck was sitting in an outdoor café with an auburn-haired woman causally drinking Vinol. They had finished the small talk, catching up on each other's lives. Bucks work and Marilee's new family. "But you didn't ask me for drinks to hear about my baby: what can I help you with?" she asked.
Buck smiled. "I need information on food disks."
"Food disks, what in the stars for?"
"Someone I care very deeply for has been declared 'disabled and unable to contribute' so they have lost their allotment" Buck said quietly.
"Ouch, I see. Not good. And there's no family?" Marilee asked.
"Family?"
"Yes, usually when someone is disabled or unable to work the family will all pitch in and share their allotments until the person can find other work. It takes at least 4 or 5 other family members for support, but I have heard of cases where that's worked for several months." She told him.
"Unfortunately, there's no family in this case. But that leads me to the question are the disks all the same?"
"No not really. We are all scanned periodically and then categorized by physiology, oh I think there are over 20 different categories right now, and the disks are based on the nutritional needs according to that. Of course, there are specialty disks for different medical conditions etc." she told him.
"So, what would happen if you ate my disks? Would you be able to survive?"
"Not that I want your disks but yes I would be okay for a while, I would miss some nutrients, and would probably gain weight since your caloric needs are greater than mine but I would survive."
"Okay and what happens when I eat in a restaurant? "
"Your food disk allotment would be less one meal the next cycle."
"Is there a reserve? You know in case of an emergency?" he asked.
Marilee shrugged her shoulders. "Not that I know of, but if there is, it is a closely guarded one." She told him.
"Wow they seem to keep really tight control."
"Well, yes, I guess they do. But you must remember the reason for all of that control. I understand that before the computer council took control of food distribution there was basically chaos as everyone fought for food, there was hoarding and feuds. It was not very productive when you are trying to rebuild."
Buck nodded his head. "What about a black market?"
Marilee gave him a puzzled look. Okay so she didn't understand black market, she probably wouldn't understand back-alley Buck thought. "A private unauthorized place to obtain disks?" he said.
"No, I do not think so, and I am not sure I would want to eat anything obtained that way, there is no way to guarantee the content. That is another reason of why the computer council took over food distribution, to guarantee the quality." She told him.
"You're probably right there. But not all of the planets and our colonies have an economies based on food disks; I mean you can buy food on Sinola right. Can the disks be imported?" Buck asked.
"You could, I guess you could bring in small amounts without it being considered criminal. But the penalties for smuggling food is pretty severe."
"I really want to thank you for your help, you have given me a lot to think about. Truth be told I never really thought about the disks, they just kind of show up at my unit" Buck told her.
Marilee pulled out her personal communications devise and checked it. "Yes, it seems that Col Deering set that up for you right after you arrived in New Chicago. And look it says here that you have about 100 disks available in your account. You were off planet for a while. Let me have these delivered to your unit before the account resets."
"Wow, I would never have known to check that. Thanks again" Buck said.
"You're such a sweet guy, how could I not help. I hope this works out for your friend."