The Imported Pest

“Just how much of a problem are these creatures causing? After all, they have been with us for over 200 years.”

The five members of the Governing Council were gathered in the private meeting room of the First Minister, Grand Councillor Frogor. This was the bi-annual budget review and funds were being sought by the new settlements in the sub tropical area of Ocean Island for imported pest control.

“There are an estimated 30,000 of the little 2-legged brutes eating their way through the gardens in the reserve estate.” This came from the chief of agriculture. If he thought there was a problem, then it was most probably quite serious.

“How did they get here in the first place, and who let them loose?”, enquired the youngest of the councillors.

the minister for extra-terrestrial affairs responded.

“Chirrup found them on his exploration of the rather obscure planet now referred to as Earth by it’s current inhabitants. He maintained that they were in the early stages of evolution and represented the only form of intelligent life on the planet; low as it was. Later, it was thought that they might be a potential food source, but nutritionists determined that they were in fact toxic. After a short period, funding was discontinued, and the whole project was abandoned.

Some soft-headed fool released a hand full of specimens in the parklands, assuming that the native fauna would feed on them. They proved to be highly resilient and their population exploded. There could be as many as several million now.”

“What do we know about the current state of this place Earth?” asked the minister for knowledge and communication.

“Well, they seem to have progressed very rapidly, but not with any great success. We don’t expect them to survive for much longer. All indications are that they have spoiled their atmosphere to a fatal level; they fight each other constantly; and apparently they are incapable of co-operative effort.”

The Finance minister frowned as he asked the next question.

“So, what do the authorities on Ocean Island want to do about this problem, and how much do they want from our budget?”

“Current estimates are eight million flies to support an initial poison baiting trial, with a further 400 million maggots if that proves successful.”

“That’s ridiculous, where are we going to get all of that from. I’m not going to be party to raising taxes just to satisfy the curiosity of the scientific community!”

The First Minister, now sprang down from the elaborate Lilly Pad throne and with obvious disdain for the opinions of his underling ministers, hopped out of the meeting.

“I’m going to lunch. Marsh fly pudding in the cafeteria today”.