No Bids

What if the US Government held an auction
for oil rights on land it historically held in trust? 

But no bids were entered?

Because, it is suspected, that extracting
the energy and delivering it to customers
in cities far away would cost companies more
then the present oil market says the energy is worth?

Native Alaskan communities like the Tyonek,
Dena'ina, the Suqpaig(Alutiq) and the Seldovia
who make up the diaspora of the 400,000 folk,
who live off the land, and along the coast,
of the Cook Inlet might well be glad
of the land being left intact at present.

But what will happen when the first bid is accepted....

Back To The Future

I predict that the future
is going to be like the past
where what intelligence there is,
or lack of same, will be analogue,
rather than digital, the better 
to be limited and self contained
in an era when AI requires levels
of electrical energy to support it 
that may not be available.