Solar Umbrella (Book 1)

Chapter 5: Fallout

LIFE AFTER THE Expulsion was different. The rebellion or repatriation of the industrial farms had an almost immediate impact on the life of every human on Earth. For Parker, it was a significant change almost immediately. Food prices quadrupled overnight and continued thereafter. Mad rushes on grocery stores led to immediate shortages. The school cafeteria still offered food, but it was not of the same quality or quantity as before. The real meat was replaced with higher quantities of lab grown, and was only offered twice a week. There was a lot more liquid offered—smoothies with insect protein and carrot or other cheap local vegetables. The school itself started growing food on campus, as did the entire country. It was hard to find a windowsill around that wasn't filled with plastic containers filled with soil and whatever people could get to grow. While life was definitely worse, there was a shift to more local food. They even began planting fruit trees on city streets and local parks. The latest shortage was in seeds and saplings. It would be years before much of the changes offered edible results, but it was something. Parker's life changed for the worse, but he knew he was in much better shape than most of the planet. His family was well off, and he had the support of the school which was funded both by the government, but also wealthy graduates. The kids in his school went on to run science and technology organizations in both the public and private sphere. There was no shortage of rich nerds looking to give back to the place that helped make them and come back to a hero's welcome in the gymnasium.

Life for poorer residents of wealthy countries were hit much harder. With food prices skyrocketing, supplies dwindling and charity dollars vanishing, there simply wasn't enough to go around. People turned to looting and even begging on the street—something that hadn't been seen for decades. Worse, the industrial farms that had been taken were rife with theft and mismanagement. Decades of being run by foreign companies had left a vacuum of management and leadership in those countries. The rebels had taken back what Parker saw as theirs to take, but they had no institutional knowledge of how to actually run these massive, complex, ultra-modern farms. There was food required for animals, water and shade for crops, people to work the fields, scientists to work with soil fertility, diseases and pests. Most of the food had been specifically engineered for the specific places it was being grown or raised. None of the special expertise required existed in these countries anymore. Eventually, deals were reached and experts sent over in exchange for food, but millions more starved all over the world. It was a massive turning point in Parker's life. Humans adapt though, and just as they adapt to changes in food and politics, so too do they adapt to suffering. Especially of others. Eventually, it too, becomes background noise.

"More mystery food today in the shakes," Kate grimaced over her bottle as she slid into the table beside Parker. Her clear bottle showed a viscous brown-green liquid that smelled like something rotting in the ocean—probably algae protein and something else. Now in their third year at Boulder Tech, her bottle had a large red number three on the side, letting food workers and others know she was in her third year at the school. The school had taken to being very precise with exactly how much each student received based on their expected caloric intake.

Parker had finished his earlier. It was nasty, but it was sustenance, and probably really healthy. "More than most people have, but yeah, I feel you," he replied, sliding over his tablet. The article on the screen was about a new deal between several of the large farms. Two years after The Expulsion, things were starting to return to some sense of normal, with food yields about half of what they were. The agreement created a sort of cartel, where the farms would set prices centrally to sell to other countries. Food levels were back to being shipped all over the world albeit in smaller quantities and inflated prices. People still starved, but the spread was more uniform, with every population taking its share.

As she read the article she smiled at the corner of her mouth. "It's ironic, it's almost like we're back to where we were. The rebels have become business people. They're hiring Western scientists and experts, paying competitive wages to bioengineers, and setting market prices. So many people have died, but we're right back to where we started."

The smile confused him at first. She wasn't happy, she found the situation darkly humorous. She was right though. Rather than a revolution, the suits and money at the top had just switched bodies. "I mean, it was theirs to take though. It was their land and water. It was their workers. And it was their people starving, even though they worked all day for our food."

"I know, and I agree but it's like my dad always says, same shit, different pile," she smiled over the thought. "We manipulated their governments and used their workers to keep us fat and happy. We worked them to a point that they broke and overthrew their keepers." She frowned. "I bet the companies would do it all over again too, just push them a little bit less so that they didn't break. I feel like no one learned anything."

Parker loved conversations like this with Kate. They seemed so easy. He could say whatever was on his mind and knew Kate wouldn't judge him for it or hold it against him later. It was a chance to try out ideas and see what happened. Too often with other people, it seemed like he had to be on side white or black and there was no room for grey. "Agreed. In the end, just as many or even more of their own people still ended up starving. At least they have some say now in their own lands and people. It was a high price to pay though," Parker replied. "Hey, at least there's been a lot of progress in other areas. Even though these shakes taste like shit, they get the job done, and we're starting to use more of our own land to generate food instead of just look pretty. That's something."

Kate thought about it for a minute and then nodded. "It's just too bad that it took so much anger, abuse, violence and death to lead us to small amounts of progress."

Parker shrugged. "Maybe it always does. In the end, it will be reason, science and logic that get us out of this problem, if anything does. Same as always."