The World Ends In 27 Days

Zhiyi examined the question but didn’t enter it into the model.

The official had asked which 44 shelters the government should abandon. His wording assumed every shelter had to remain independent, the available water couldn’t be moved and the people inside would remain where they were.

But none of those conditions had been confirmed.

"That isn’t one question," she told him after a moment.

The official stared at her from the communications wall. "I’m asking you to identify the shelters we can’t sustain."

"No. You’re asking me to choose a distribution method, determine the value assigned to different lives, define an acceptable mortality rate and select which facilities receive a limited resource." Zhiyi separated the decisions into individual fields. "Those are four questions."

Impatience crossed the official’s exhausted face. He glanced toward the clock on the command-room wall as though it might provide more time if Zhiyi stopped insisting on precision.

"We don’t have time to debate how I phrased it," he snapped before quickly closing his eyes.

"She isn’t debating with you," Hanchuan said from behind Zhiyi’s chair. His hand remained against the back of her neck, where his thumb moved slowly beneath her hair. "You gave her four decisions and asked for one answer. If you want a useful result, give her the first decision."

The official looked down at the population reports covering his desk.

He had expected Zhiyi to tell him which shelters deserved water, but the numbers couldn’t make that decision until someone defined what the government was trying to preserve.

When he raised his head again, his impatience had given way to resignation. "What do you need from me?"

"A measurable objective," Zhiyi replied.

"Keep as many people alive as possible," the official replied.

"For how long?"

The official hesitated. "As long as possible."

"That isn’t measurable."

Zeyu rested one hand on the table and gave the man a sympathetic look. "She needs a finish line. We all know surviving for three days isn’t enough, but she can’t calculate ’as long as possible’ without knowing what point you want her to measure."

A discussion began inside the command room.

Zhiyi heard references to generator fuel, medical supplies and the length of time the remaining tankers could operate. The official listened to three people argue before lifting his hand to silence them.

"Maximize the number of people who will still be alive and supplied with drinking water 72 hours from now," the man came back after a moment.

Zhiyi entered the objective into the model. "Now provide the verified population of each shelter."

A woman in a government uniform moved into view beside the official, clutching a tablet against her chest. She had likely been listening from outside the camera’s range because she answered before he could relay the request.

"We have the registration totals," she said almost hesitantly.

Zhiyi looked toward her. "I asked for verified populations."

The woman’s shoulders stiffened at the correction. "The totals were verified when each shelter opened."

"When did they open?"

"Most began accepting people yesterday morning. The final locations opened later in the afternoon." The woman checked the records on her tablet before giving Zhiyi the precise range. "The counts are between 19 and 31 hours old."

"Then they’re no longer accurate," replied Zhiyi, shaking her head.

The woman drew a breath as though preparing to defend the reports, but Zhiyi continued before she could.

"People will have entered after registration ended. Others will have left, died or been transferred. Any shelter that lost communications may have changed occupancy without reporting it."

"We can’t recount tens of thousands of people while half the city’s communications are down," the woman replied. Her voice remained professional, although frustration sharpened it. "Those registration totals are the best numbers we have."

"Then they aren’t verified populations. They’re estimates with an unrecorded error range," Zhiyi explained. She wasn’t upset or irritated, she was simply facing facts as she knew them.

The official lifted a hand before the woman could answer again. The movement lacked authority so much as weariness.

"Use the registration totals as estimates," he instructed Zhiyi. "Tell us what additional information would reduce the error."

Zhiyi accepted the new data category and opened a second field beside each shelter. "I need the time of its last confirmed count, maximum capacity, current water inventory, generator status and most recent internal temperature. Any shelter that can’t provide updated information must be labeled uncertain."

The uniformed woman looked at the official, waiting for him to reduce the request to something their remaining staff could manage.

Instead, he nodded toward her tablet. "Get her everything we have."

Data began reaching the isolated terminal in uneven batches. Four shelters had reported broken water lines, while seven hadn’t updated their inventory since the previous morning. Several had admitted people after submitting their official counts. Others had lost occupants to medical evacuation, panic or attempts to return home.

Qinghe took the medical reports and separated the populations that couldn’t safely be moved. "Hospitals and shelters with bedbound patients need to remain where they are unless the government still has functioning medical vehicles."

The uniformed woman searched her records. "Fourteen ambulances are operational."

"For the entire city?" Zeyu asked. His eyebrows rose as though he expected her to correct the number.

"We had more than 300 yesterday," she admitted.

Her answer removed the disbelief from his expression. He pulled the vehicle reports toward him and began sorting them by internal temperature, fuel and road access.

Jingwei examined the same routes from a different perspective. "Seven of those ambulances are on roads already blocked by crowds or collisions. You have four that can move immediately and three that may be recoverable."

Qinghe looked toward him. "Then the four working vehicles go to patients who require oxygen, active medical treatment or assisted transport. We don’t waste them moving people who can walk through a protected route."

"That only works if protected routes exist," Shichen pointed out as he joined Zhiyi beside the infrastructure map. "The public distance between shelters doesn’t tell us whether people can move safely. We need underground connections."

The uniformed woman frowned at the incomplete city plans. "The emergency maps include subway tunnels and designated pedestrian passages."

"They don’t include connected basements, parking structures, utility corridors or private loading areas," Shichen replied in his normal, even tone. "Five hundred meters aboveground may be fatal, while a kilometer through connected structures may be survivable."

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