Extinction Level Event (41 page)

Manjak walks briskly through the marbled halls
straight into Haartaagnan's office, on the 38th floor of the
Secretarial Tower. Bright sunlight floods reflects off the glinting
skyscrapers of New York's East Side, flooding the spacious office
with illumination. Manjak pauses for a moment as several
dignitaries from Cameroon exit the office, nodding briefly to him
as they pass by. Manjak walks in, greeting the Secretary General.
"I see you've recovered quickly, as we all hoped you would. ",
quips Haartaagnan, "It would have been unfortunate if I would have
needed to begin a search for Maurice's replacement."

Houston, TX

Upon learning of the upheaval in Los Angeles,
Krishnan decided to return to the University of Texas Medical
Center. He logs into his computer, and files away several documents
that he didn't attend to in his rush out to Los Angeles a few
months back. Next he opens the hundred or so business letters that
have piled up in his mailbox during his absence.

The phone rings. "Hello? Dr. Krishnan speaking." "Hey
I'm finally out!", a voice with a slight Russian accent replies,
"No thanks in small part to you." "Viktor! So you're out already,
that's great. So you left that text message for me, I presume? How
did you know you were getting arrested? Why didn't you tell them
about Medina's involvement, or his culpability? I've got a lot of
questions I would like to get some answers on." "Patience, my
friend.", purrs Konovalov over the phone, "I'll explain everything.
Perhaps we shouldn't be talking about this over the phone."
"Perhaps you're right", Krishnan quickly realizes, "Where are you
now?" "I'm in Washington, but I should be back in Texas later
today. I have an idea, something I figured we should try. All this
time, and it took some silent thinking in jail for me to realize
the solution was sitting in front of us the whole time." "What
solution? The re-growing agricultural growth and redevelopment or
something like that that the UN has adopted?" "No. Another, perhaps
much simpler solution- Xerophytes."

"Xerophytes? Like for example, the pear cactus?
Someone must have tried engineering one. And the need doesn't
really exist anymore, now that the whole world is developing and
entirely new base for growing food."

"More specific. Vegetables such as celery and
rhubarbs, a fruit, are much more hardy than say wheat or tomatoes.
But these all still require soil in which to grow. However, cacti
such as the one you mentioned live in deserts, where soil quality
is low and is supplanted by sand as well. Worm populations
virtually nonexistent."

"So you want to feed people on pear cacti-rhubarb
hybrids? What about onions, they are from the steppes of Central
Asia, aren't you considering them?"

"Not quite. Several different hybrids, to be precise.
I was talking to a few botanists while imprisoned, and they
recommended a mixture of berries, Saskatoons, pears, hard kiwis,
artichoke, various onions. Plants that would survive in more arid,
colder environments."

"Last time I checked the planet was warming up. And I
don't know if anyone has mentioned this to you, but we've
progressed past the cave man stage of evolution some time ago.
Berries and nuts have been off the menu for a while now, Viktor. I
simply don't see the potential that you see. Not with the advances
in horticulture and aquaculture that we have had in the last few
decades."

"You're a pessimist.", huffs Konovalov dryly. "No,
just a realist." "Bah. I'll talk to you later then. You going to
California?" "Not for a few weeks, not with the mess going on there
now." "Okay. Take care my friend. And thank you very much for your
help. "
Whats' gotten into him
? wonders Krishnan. After
hanging up Krishnan returns to reorganizing his office.

Intent on preventing Krishnan from having a free
hour, the phone quickly rings again. It turns out to be Dr. Wang
calling from UCLA, having taken over Krishnan's duties as chief
scientist of the Epidemic Investigation and Prevention Team.

"What is it now?" huffs Krishnan, "I just got back
from Washington, Wang. Like twenty minutes ago. This better be
important."

"I thought you might like to know that we found two
specimens of Giant Palouse, and are keeping them in a secure and
self-sustaining tank. Dr. Rodriguez is looking after them. As
expected, no other live worms were recovered from the area where
they were found. We also have gotten more police security around
the buildings as a result of the recent shakeup at NBACC. Who knows
if there are other delinquents who may wish to impede our progress
for no logical reason."

"That's great news Wang. Have the worms started
mating yet?" "Yes. Though Rodriguez reminded me that we don't know
how long until the cocoon hatches or how long it takes for the
embryos to reach maturity." "Regardless, that's great. Maybe we can
eventually repopulate." "That will takes years, decades, before the
Giant Palouse can take over as the world's primary detritovore."
"That's why Resolution 1555 was adopted. Politicians finally got
their heads out of the ground and realized we needed a new
approach. . . a truly new approach to deal with this and prevent
similar happenings in the future. I hope we all learn something
from this.

We grow, we change, we evolve. But of course, why am
I saying this to you. You already know my views."

"Of course." "Anything else?" "Nothing at the moment.
The city seems rather tense." "I'll bet. Curfew still in place? It
is calmer now?" "Not really. As you saw in the news we just had a
massive riot two nights ago. Huge, I woke up around 5:00am by
several police sirens' near the campus. Of course I wouldn't go
back to sleep after that. I watched some of the news live as the
National Guard took on some gangs who were inciting people to riot
and everything. That's also the main reason why we have so much
security around here now, although we are also concerned about
people like Mr. Medina."

"Ok. As the saying goes, -keep a cap on things until
I get back. Or something like that." Krishnan hangs up.
At least
we found two Giant Palouses.
Just about the only stroke of
real luck I've seen since this disaster epic started.
After
cleaning up a few last things, Krishnan decides to visit Konovalov,
make sure he's okay, and then return to the City of Angels.

Los Angeles

McCarthy woke up in his hotel room, listening to the
morning sounds outside his window. Traffic had started up again.
The breeze of cologne, perfume, buses, gasoline, and rubber filled
the air along with the talking and shouting of people heading to
work. Only three days after the huge midnight riots, it seemed that
things were going back to normal. There were broken neighborhoods,
and burnt cars in many areas, and stolen items, and missing food.
But it seemed that the city was tired, tired of fighting, tired of
individuals trying to get their way by force and deceit. People
were more interested in working together, rather than each
neighborhood and each community having to fend for themselves.
People wanted to go back to their normal lives, without
checkpoints, food stamps, or curfews. A welcome change in the
city's attitude that had occurred only in the past week.

A demonstration had marched through the streets
yesterday. But there was no disturbance, no fighting, and very few
arguments that had accompanied it. Rather, it was the expression of
a collective will, what the people wanted.

Needless to say, a murky view of a bright future.

McCarthy quickly shaves, dresses, and walks the two
blocks to the city hall. An aide informs him of a phone call for
him the moment he enters office. Picking up the phone, the aide
whispers that it is Onassis. "Hello?" "Mike. So have you gotten the
memo?" "What memo?", asks McCarthy confused. He leans over, seeing
several letters on his desk. "The one from me." Turning over the
letters, he finds a memo addressed to him from the Secretary's
office in Washington. "McCarthy. . . "Onassis pauses. "There is a
job offering for you here in Washington- Deputy Secretary." "Deputy
S-e-cre-tary?. . . ",stutters McCarthy, "of what?" "USDA. I'm going
into retirement. With the passage of Resolution 1555, the President
feels that we should be back on our feet within six months, and
completely recovered in a year. I'm stepping down in three months.
Your decision, of course."

Overwhelmed yet secretly exhilarated at the same
time, McCarthy swallows, thinking through his options carefully. "I
have to consider this. But, my many thanks for offering me the
opportunity, . . .sir." "Looking forward to your reply." answers
Onassis before hanging up the phone.

Why is he retiring?
wonders McCarthy
privately.
Is it the stress? The feeling that the worst of this
is over, that he can retire in dignity and with honor?
No
matter. McCarthy decides to accept the opportunity as part of the
many greater changes happening all around him, for the better.
I'll take it as a response; as an award to my many months here
away from San Francisco, away from my kid, away from my home
.
Perhaps in the new position, he would be better able to effect
change.
What is change?
Everyone has a different
interpretation of what constitutes progressive, beneficial change.
Time for making a change in our new world. . . .

EPILOGUE

When in the course of human events, disastrous
occurrences pass, people will either be conjoined together in an
effort to surpass the new obstacles presented or disjoined and
dissolved by the forces at work. It is, ultimately, in the best
interests of the species to work together to overcome such
potentially divisive and damaging occurrences, be they natural or
manmade. Eventually, the realization that the entirety of the
history of the species has passed on one small, insignificant rock
in a expanse of nearly empty vacuum will soon dawn in the minds the
slowly progressing, but still primitive bipedals that inhabit that
rock. Inhabiting all six continents of the globe, the species has
relied on for a significant portion of its history on the work of
other, non-sentient species in order to build a more perfect union.
For many Millenia, the species has domesticated a wide and varied
range of other species to build the foundations of the their
civilization, which arguably has been the invention of agriculture,
more than any other technological breakthrough. This breakthrough,
more than any other, is the single most potent force in the species
development and advancement through the stages of civilization.
However, in addition to the domesticated species many other,
smaller, and less visible species have contributed to the
development, destruction, and rebirth of many of the individual
politically, geographically, and socially distinct cultures of
homo sapiens
across the globe.

World shaking occurrences bridge the gap between the
species' cultures. But just as important as unity is to this
species, culture has a special place in their hearts and minds. The
development of language, customs, traditions, and religions have
given the species, bound originally by geographic locale, something
special to cherish. It is this individual culture that gives them
strength, something to make one of them unique from the rest. Over
time, culture has manifested itself into politically distinct
units. As the blue rock shrank, politically people have come
together, for the first time in the species' history every
political unit represented in one organization. But the culture
gives them individuality, a strength, a uniqueness well worth to be
preserved long into the future, best done through that medium which
has sufficed so far; namely geography.

It is suffice to say that the blue rock is becoming
inadequate. The species, like their ancestors before them, have
become many, and will soon be seeing new lands in which to make
their home. This time, let them not look at distant mountain ranges
to trek, nor vast murky oceans to cross, but rather to the stars to
explore, and conquer.

The species, evolved from their violent ancestors,
have always been conquerors. Like their non-sentient relatives,
they must acquire new lands and resources in which to build new
civilizations. But let the species pause for a moment, think, and
reconsider. There is nothing left to conquer on the blue rock. But,
by luck or design, if one takes a glance upwards, there are a
million rocks ready to be conquered.

APPENDIX

REFERENCES:

Edwards, Clive E.
Earthworm Ecology
. 2nd
edition. Boca Raton: CRC, 2004. Print.

A Guide to Information at
the United Nations.
Dept. of Public
Information. New York, NY 10017. UN Publications Sales No.
E.95.I.4

Pringle,
Peter
. Food Inc: Mendel to Monsanto-The
Promises and Perils of the Biotech Harvest.
Simon & Schuster. 2003. Print.

INTERNET REFERENCES:

"Crop Protection." Monsanto Co. Web. 3 Sept.
2009. .

Animal and Health Inspection Service
.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Web. 3 Sept. 2009.

San Joaquin Delta College (Degrees)
.
San Joaquin Delta College. Web. 5 Sept. 2009.
.

Lentz / Jr., John. "Dell's New Super
Computers."
Best Stuff
. Web. 5 Sept. 2009.
.