16

Although she's perfectly polite as she speaks, the tone of her voice sounds very rehearsed, almost as if she's reading from a company press release. She keeps her eyes on you as she finishes her speech, waiting for your response—but her calm, practiced demeanor gives you the impression that she isn't expecting you to say much else. After all, you don't know the details of all the laws and guidelines they're going to follow, and even if you did, there's no way you can prove they're not going to follow them.

But you don't have to. You realize there's another strategy you could take—and after a few moments of silence, you say in as clear a voice as you can manage:

"Okay. But how do I know those laws are actually good enough to protect the environment? Could you tell us more about them? Is there anywhere we can read about them?"

Dina pauses, licking her lips. Glancing briefly down at her notes, she gives a small nod.

"Yes, I can tell you a little bit about them. I'm afraid I don't have the full information, but—essentially, the laws are there to ensure that everything we do is sustainable, that we don't take out more than we put back. That might mean that for every tree we remove, we plant another one, or even two. It might mean using renewable energy to power everything. There are a lot of ways we can make sure the environment is protected, and the laws are there to try and make sure we do."

It's clear now that Dina is speaking off her own bat, and not from a prepared speech. At the same time, though, there still isn't a lot of detail in her answers—whether because she doesn't have all the information at hand, or because she only wants to give the smoothest overview possible. Either way, you don't hesitate long before replying again.

"Okay, but—what if that's still not enough? How do we know things couldn't be even cleaner? Just because it's the law doesn't mean it's perfect. Have you done your own research to make sure you're doing everything the best way possible?"

Dina watches you, her mouth slightly open. Then, her eyes drop down again to her notes—and it takes her a few more seconds before she responds.

"Clarence Industries themselves are in charge of handling the details of the developments; we make sure to keep them accountable to the law, but it's up to them how they choose to approach the work," she says in a slightly quieter voice. This time, she doesn't maintain eye contact with you for quite as long. "As long as they work within the law, then it's their choice whether they want to do that kind of research and act on it."

A few murmurs rise from around the hall. You keep silent—but you feel the same swell of disbelief in your stomach. At the end of the day, the company itself is deciding how the developments will affect the environment. And if the laws really aren't good enough, then they might get away with doing whatever they want.

You don't know that for sure, of course, but you get the feeling that a lot of people around you are thinking along the same lines. After a couple more words from Dina, thanking you for your question, you sit back down—and try to quell the anxiety that's beginning to gnaw at your insides.

As someone else gets up to speak, though, you allow yourself to feel proud for what you said. You don't know if it will be enough on its own to sway the council's vote, but it's still something. At the very least, you think you gave them something to think about.

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