Ino Adrastus is the Secretary General of Ecology for the entire planet Earth and takes the opportunity of an interview with a reporter to make sure his views are fairly represented.
This story has a complicated publication history. IBM Magazine commissioned a story from Asimov, and he wrote it, “2430 A.D.—Too Late For the Space Ark.” They didn’t like it, and asked him to write a new one, “The Greatest Asset.” Then they changed their minds and opted for “2430 A.D.—Too Late For the Space Ark” after all, so Asimov sold “The Greatest Asset” to Analog.
Although, like “2430 A.D.—Too Late For the Space Ark,” this is an overpopulation cautionary tale, it’s less heavy-handed and more gentle, and so it’s slightly better, I think. But only slightly. It’s still short and closer to being a sermon than a story, and not of much interest.
