“Why not? You don’t think the GEC would seize any resources we bring to Earth? That’s the reason the Global Economic Council was created — to control the whole twirling Earth’s international trade.”

Humphries smiled coldly. “I can handle the GEC. Trust me on that one.” Dan stared at the younger man for a long, hard moment. Finally he shook his head and replied, “It doesn’t matter. I’d even be willing to let the GEC run the show.”

“You would?”

“Hell yes. We’re in a global emergency now. Somebody has to allocate resources, control prices, see to it that nobody takes advantage of this crisis to line his own pockets.”

“I suppose so,” Humphries said slowly. “Still, I’m convinced there’s a lot of money to be made by mining the Belt.”

Nodding, Dan agreed, “There’s a lot of resources out there, that’s for sure. Heavy metals, organics, resources we can’t get from the Moon.”

“Resources that the Earth needs, and the GEC would be willing to pay for.”

“Mining the asteroids,” Dan mused. “That’s a major undertaking. A major undertaking.”

“That’s why I’m here. Astro Manufacturing has the resources to do it”

“Astro Manufacturing is just about broke and you know it.”

“I wasn’t talking about financial resources,” Humphries said, waving a hand in the air almost carelessly.

“Oh no?”

“No.” Pointing a finger toward the window and the storm-battered launch facility outside, Humphries said, “You’ve got the technological know-how, the teams of trained personnel, the rockets and infrastructure to get us into space.”

“And it’s bleeding me white because there’s less and less of a market for launch services. Nobody can afford to buy electronics manufactured on the Moon, not when they’re being driven from their homes by floods and earthquakes.” Humphries’s brows rose questioningly.

“I know, I know,” Dan said. “There’s the energy market. Sure. But how many solar-power satellites can we park in orbit? The double-damned GEC just put a cap on them. We’re building the next-to-last one now. After those two, no more powersats.”