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“What standards will guide the genetic engineers?” – Leon Kass
Date: 12.28.2098
Earth – Guizhou Province, China
Guizhou Province was far more advanced than Edith had expected. The small plane descended through the thick layer of clouds, lurching and jumping so much that she regretted drinking the two cups of tea as they sloshed about ominously in her stomach. She could see an enormous city below them, tall skyscrapers mixed with massive apartment buildings, and even ancient-looking pagoda-style structures. For some reason, she had been expecting a more rural location. She had fully furnished the image in her mind, complete with dirt roads and a beaten down truck belching diesel.
Lin followed her gaze out of the window, “This is the city of Guiyang,” he said, pronouncing it “Ghee-yang” and pointed to the large river they were flying over, “And that is the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. Guiyang has over seven million population. It used to be known as the Forest City,” he smiled ruefully, “but those are all gone now.”
There was a thick layer of smog hanging low in the air. It looked gray and oily.
“I had read that China had won the battle over decades of pollution,” Edith said, her voice petering out as she viewed something obviously quite different.
Lin looked embarrassed, “Unfortunately Ghizhou Province is not as high a priority as some of the wealthier regions. There is, how do you say, corruption? It is a work in progress.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Here is the runway now,” he said, pointing out of the window.
She could now see the small air control tower. This was quite obviously not the main airport, but one specifically for smaller aircraft.
A few moments later the plane had landed and Edith breathed a sigh of relief. Her stomach was still unsettled and she hoped this would be the last plane ride for a while.
They disembarked from the plane and walked over to an ancient and battered Jeep. Lin bowed, his face flushing as he held the passenger door open for Edith.
“My apologies, Dr. Hainey, it looks quite rough, but I promise it is quite reliable.”
Edith couldn’t help but smile. Back home, Tom had jumped at the chance to trade up to a self-driving autocar the moment EcoNu offered it. She, on the other hand, had insisted on keeping her 2089 Simpatico. She loved the feel of the wheel in her hands, even though the kids had complained, and Tom had made fun of her.
“I might be stuck in my ways, but I like the feeling that I am in control.” She had told anyone who asked, wondering if people who had eschewed e-readers for good old-fashioned books had felt the same way at the beginning of the century.
It took nearly an hour to reach the farm from the small airport, often on poorly maintained roads. No wonder they were in a driver-operated Jeep.
“Autocars operate using the Advanced Global Positioning System in combination with magnetic strips embedded in the roadbed itself,” Lin explained, “This road has not been retrofitted with the magnetic strips yet.”
The Jeep swerved to avoid a large hole in the road and bounced as it hit a smaller one. Edith braced herself for more as the road dwindled to nothing more than gravel and large swathes of muddy bog.
“Completely understandable,” she said as they lurched and bounced over the rough road. Her teeth ached from clenching her jaw at each dip and jump of the Jeep. It was, after all, what she had expected when she had first heard of the assignment.
The low-slung buildings appeared in the distance before them.
“As you can see, the farm is a typical CAFO,” Lin said proudly, wrenching the wheel to the right as the Jeep jumped through a large puddle. The mud spattering the sides of the Jeep reeked, as did the farm which could now be seen clearly.
“A mile to the west is a village of around 5,000.”
“Ah, yes, a CAFO.” Edith replied, trying to fake enthusiasm and failing utterly. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations had been banned in the Reformed United States for nearly three-quarters of a century. Shut down by the Collapse, they were opened for a short time in the 2030s before being closed down again after a series of protests by animal rights activists as well as the Progressive party.
Edith had read the ample research that indicated that CAFOs were not only bad for the animals confined within them, they were also incredibly damaging to the environment and a breeding ground for disease.
“I’m surprised that EcoNu signed off on this.” Edith commented coolly, and Lin stared at her in confusion.
“Dr. Hainey, they asked for it specifically. This is all, how do you say, to spec?”
The Quonset style huts were approximately four meters tall by five meters wide and stretched at least 25 meters in length. The smell, even when they were a quarter of a mile out, had been overwhelming. Edith would have asked more questions about EcoNu’s orders if she hadn’t have been gasping for air, choking on the noxious fumes as the Jeep rattled to a stop.
The workers on site met the two at their car and quickly handed Edith and Lin rubber masks with gaskets and seals. Edith’s eyes burned, streaming tears from the stench of methane as she fumbled with the straps. One of the workers helped tighten hers and once sealed, she was able to breathe again without difficulty. Without the masks they would not be able to withstand the putrid air. The outside of the facility was barren, and in the distance, she could see the waste lagoons brimming with liquid feces.
They weren’t too terribly far from a village, at least, that is what Lin had indicated. Edith pursed her lips. How could the villagers stand it? One change in direction from the wind and the stench would hit the village head on.
This was why CAFOs had been banned in her country. The impact on the environment was devastating and the lawsuits had been going strong right before the Collapse.
Edith had read about it in her history books. After the Second American Civil War, all of the states except Hawaii and Alaska had reunited and many things had changed. The citizens’ rights to a clean environment were high on that list. Corporations simply did not have the power in her country that they had earlier in the century. And from what Edith could tell, that was a good thing.
Edith stood there looking at the waste lagoons. Why would EcoNu okay a CAFO? What possible benefit could that have?
“Those waste ponds are nearly full.”
Lin’s expression was obscured by the mask.
“Yes, Dr. Hainey, they should be full soon, but there is a tanker coming to drain them tomorrow.
Edith watched Lin as he stood there, rigidly, his head bowed down. It was hard to tell, but she couldn’t shake the suspicion he was lying at that moment. She just couldn’t figure out why.
She felt as if she were missing something, and tried to remember the specifics about how waste lagoons were dealt with once they were full. She would have to look it up. It wasn’t her area of expertise, nor under her control for that matter, but if the Chinese were messing up and violating any health codes, EcoNu would need to be informed.
Meanwhile, Lin kept his silence.
Edith’s job was to test the pigs and ensure that all of the sampled swine were healthy. Or at least as healthy as swine could be in a CAFO. That was her job. Nevertheless, she made a mental note to speak with Scott Dorns about the waste lagoons. Perhaps the Chinese had misunderstood EcoNu’s requests when creating the project.
“Oh my God.” Edith stared at the massive numbers of pigs within the low-slung building
It had almost certainly taken them around the clock effort to prepare for her visit. Despite this, Edith could not disguise her horror at seeing the reality of a CAFO up close and personal.
“We recently reduced their numbers. Any that were not growing as fast as the others were processed.” Lin said.
“How many did you cull?”
“Fifty,” Lin said, stiffening yet again.
She didn’t call him on it, but now she was sure he was lying. If Lin claimed fifty, then the number of culled might have been closer to twice that. Edith tried to imagine another hundred head of swine crammed into the pens. She felt sick. This was beyond cruel. How could EcoNu have allowed this?
“These all received their last rounds of EcoNu growth inoculations yesterday.” Lin said, sounding nervous.
“I’ll need to sample at least ten percent. Blood, saliva, and feces if you don’t mind,” Edith replied.
She tamped down her reaction over the waste lagoon and the state of affairs inside of the building. Saying anything more would only make the man defensive, especially if he was doing what EcoNu had asked. She would wait and give a full report to Scott when she returned and submitted the blood sample work-ups.
Lin nodded and led the way to the small testing station, complete with vials for blood samples, lab coats and heavy duty rubber boots.
Hours later, with racks of samples in coolers, Edith, and Lin entered a small, nondescript concrete building a short distance away. Here they rinsed off with water from a local aquifer, and drank some tea, before removing the lab coats and returning to the vehicle to make the drive back to Guiyang. Edith was pleased she wouldn’t have to stay anywhere near the disgusting stench. Lin looked relieved that there had been no additional probing questions.
By evening, Edith was ensconced in a plush hotel overlooking the lights of Guiyang.
The next morning she returned to the airport in a small autocar, well rested, slightly overwarm and sweating despite the cool morning air. Edith gave it little thought. She had been experiencing menopause symptoms for several years now and wrote it off as having to do with that. Especially since she had such a healthy appetite – she had eaten every scrap of the breakfast and then dug into the large bag of treats she had purchased for the kids yesterday evening. Her stomach rumbled again. She reached for the bag, wishing she had bought more.
While the autocar drove smoothly along, she composed a quick note to her supervisor.
Transmission Packet
ECONU-HAINEYES to ECONU-DORNSS
/BEGIN TRANSMISSION
COMPLETED REQUESTED SAMPLING OF 10% OF SWINE POP YESTERDAY. ALL SAMPLES INCLUDE WORKUP AS REQ’D. SLIGHTLY ELEVATED TEMP BUT NON-FEBRILE. GROWTH ON TRACK FOR OUR PREDICTIONS. WILL GIVE FULL REPORT UPON RETURN, BUT FARM IS SET UP AS CAFO WITH WASTE LAGOONS. WTH?
/END TRANSMISSION
In the weeks to follow, her schedule was filled with trips, conventions, and speaking engagements. She only had a short few days of down time at home to see her family before flying to Europe, Latin America, and D.C. for various medical conferences.
