If you were watching the Games, we were on the Big Screen at the business end of the Conference Room at Socotra House yesterday.
There was a reason.

Miles claimed he missed the production meeting due to an episode of sleep apnea. We suspect he was curled up in the Transient Suite on the 6th floor. Some of the mini-bottles from the Superaldn Distillery Delivery System were also missing.

Even if he told us to lay off until after Easter.

He showed up this morning with the lead graphic—Olympic gold everywhere—and Splash held up his tablet with another glowing image:

Rocket put his index finger on the screen, tracing the arc of a missile.

“The Games are well in progress,” he said. “Getty shot. Iran-Russia naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz. Twenty percent of the world’s oil flows out of there.”

“Do the Russkies still have a Navy?” asked Melissa, pursing her lips. “I haven’t heard much about it lately.”

Vic laughed. “It’s a signal. They still have maritime capability. A lot of missiles and manpower are busy in Ukraine, though. Long-term demographics are going to be brutal for both sides. That bill comes due eventually.”

“Besides having the electrical grids fried and city centers blown out?” asked Holly, frowning. “There are big changes coming we’re not paying attention to.”

Her grammar caused a pause.

“Like what?” Keith asked, hunched over his oversized mug of Flat Yank coffee. His hair had grown long and fell across his forehead. He had been reviewing force deployments coming on station in the Mid-East.

“The One-Child policy effects are just being felt,” said Dierdre. “China’s birthrate is down around 1.6. It takes 2.1 just to stay even.”

“Yeah,” said Keith. “Ours is below replacement, too. Next Census could show decline.”

“China faces a structural collapse inside a decade,” Vic said, reclining in his FlexiSpot C7M. “I’m pleased I probably won’t have to deal with it. I am concerned we only have two product references in The Daily this morning—and we haven’t discussed the Supreme Court decision on tariffs.”

“Trump’s had decent luck with them,” Miles said firmly, reclaiming the meeting. “But they say he can’t just whistle up tariffs like he did with Canada.”

“So we’ve come back to Canada again,” said Splash. “That was a thrill yesterday—overtime victory over them.”

“That wasn’t the only thrill on ice,” Splash added, grinning. “Alysa Liu was breathtaking. First U.S. figure skating gold in two decades.”

“That wasn’t the only gold on display,” said Melissa, shaking her curls. “Captain Hilary Knight proposed to speed skater Brittany Bowe the night before the game.”

“Gold?” asked Keith.

“Everything was gold yesterday,” Melissa said. “Medals. Rings.”

“And oil routes,” Rocket added quietly.

“And missile exhaust,” said Vic.

The room went still for a moment.

“We may not be at war with Iran until Monday,” Miles said evenly. “Two carriers, a screen of destroyers, Raptors overhead, more en route. Full posture by mid-March.”

“So we may get a good weekend,” said Holly.

There was general nodding around the table.

“Brittany skates today,” Holly added. “It will be interesting if she medals to match her fiancée.”

“The choice between war and romance used to be an easy one,” Vic said.

Dierdre smiled.

Outside the window the afternoon light leaned toward gold.

Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra.com