After Calexit, the power from the mandatory, roof-top solar panels was shunted to the energy collection farms in the Bay area, the sprawling barrios of greater Los Angeles-San Diego and the government compounds of Sacramento. The cyber industry of the Bay area was the main source of hard currency for Cali and got the lion’s share of energy to run the computers (and air conditioners) while the barrios were always on the verge of exploding into open warfare due to the lack of both. All that said, there was enough power leftover to make ice for their tea.
Bonita and Miguel were not a couple, per se. Bonita was the lead female even though she was only 20 years old. The four rocked and fanned, as they planned the next day’s activities.
“Looks like another hot one.” Mardi said. Mardi ran the administrative side of the farm. Chad freely admitted that he had the better end of the deal. The paperwork had been a burden before Calexit. Under the watchful eye of the eco-terrorists inhabiting Sacramento, it had turned into a 12-hour-a-day job.
Miguel said, “The young ones are getting restless. They are playing grab-ass and getting into fights. It is even too hot to work off-the-clock.” Miguel used the term from before the RFID chip days. “We all miss the extra calories and protein.”
Chad said, “Well… There is something we can do but it is not exactly by-the-book. I don’t mind trying it out with a couple of people who can keep their mouths shut.”
Both Bonita and Miguel perked up. Miguel said, “It is my job as lead to check things out. What do you have in mind?”
Bonita said, “Count me in, too. I need to be sure it is good for the girls.”
Chad said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
A minute later he came back out onto the porch. He was carrying a gun. “Before you get excited, you need to know that this is a perfectly legal pellet gun. You pump it up like this.” He demonstrated. “You put in a pellet like this. And then…” he pointed it out into the dry yard, “you shoot it like this.”
A puff of dust erupted in front of a starling pecking at the ground thirty yards way. The bird squawked and took flight. “Every starling has about as much edible meat on it as a hotdog. Every sparrow is about a half hotdog. They aren’t hard to hunt. The hard thing is shooting enough of them to make a meal.”
Chad handed the pellet gun to Miguel. “See if you can hit the fence post over there.” Miguel pumped it up ten times the way he had seen Chad do it. He loaded a pellet. Aimed. Fired and missed.
“Let me try.” Bonita said. She pumped it ten times. She loaded a pellet. She used the railing of the porch for a steady rest. She let out half a breath and eased back on the trigger. The pinging sound of a metallic impact came back.
Chad said, “As you both can see, it is not a race to see how fast you can squeeze the trigger. And shooting is something that women can do as well as men.”
Miguel asked, “Why is using this to hunt birds not exactly by-the-book?”
Chad answered, “Two reasons. One is that we need to apply for a permit to control any pests. It takes a month for Sacramento to grant permission and these birds will be a hundred miles away by then. The other reason is that these are lead pellets. Lead is a prohibited substance in Cali and it is a felony to possess it in any form.”
Miguel said, “It is going to take me forever to get enough birds to eat.”
Mardi smirked. She knew what was coming.
Chad said, “Thing is… I got two of these pellet guns. I figured I would let the girls use one and the boys use the other. As soon as you have ten birds between the two teams we will cook them up and add them to dinner. The way I see it, eating meat regularly tends to make people forget about the fine print that don’t matter.”
Bonita made a point of asking Mardi for tips on hunting the birds. Mardi coached her. She told Bonita about bait and cover. She told her about decoys and fields of fire. Bonita passed this wisdom to her girl team, they soundly beat the boys in the number of birds they brought to the table, at least the first few times. But the boys watched the girls and they learned so the competition became more evenly matched after that.
Chapter Two
“Do it over.” Chad said.
Miguel said, “You have got to be kidding me! We just picked the bugs off of 3,000 feet of potatoes.”
“Do it over.” Chad said.
Miguel stared at him.
Chad said, “Step over here so we can talk about it.” They quietly walked away from the work crew.
Once they were fifty yards away from the crew Miguel exclaimed, “Are you nuts! We just finished those rows.”
Chad said, “Your crew was sloppy. You were sloppy. I walked those rows. There are still plants with bugs. You can’t miss them. They are orange. There are bugs on the ground. Those bugs will just crawl back up on the potatoes and lay more eggs.”
Chad pointed, “The bugs on the ground mean that your crew was sloppy handling the tarps. You are supposed to drag the tarps down the row. The crew shakes the plants. When there are a lot of bugs on the tarps your crew is supposed to pour the bugs off the tarp and into the buckets. Then you put the covers on the buckets. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.”
Chad continued, “People will perform to your expectation. The way to communicate what you expect is by what you inspect. I inspected the rows you claimed to have de-bugged. They do not meet my expectations. Do them over. Tell your crew that I directed you to inspect each row when they think they are done. Call me when you are sure they will pass my inspection.” With that, Chad walked off.
Four hours later Chad walked the rows with Miguel. As he walked, Chad explained “We are not allowed to use chemicals. Sacramento tells us how many pounds of potatoes we must ship each year. That number is higher than what I shipped when I was allowed to use chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides.”
“Missing any bugs leaves breeding stock for the next generation.”
“The other thing you have to consider is what we do with the bugs. Some farms squish them and use them for fertilizer. We do something different.”
“Did you ever wonder where those eggs you eat at breakfast come from? They come from ducks. Do you know what ducks are? They are machines that turn bugs into eggs. Those potato bugs become duck food.”
“But why should I have to inspect my people’s work? It is like I don’t trust them.” Miguel asked.
“You are looking at it the wrong way.” Chad said. “How did you feel when I inspected the rows and they were good? You know that I am a tough inspector.”
Miguel thought for a minute. “I guess I felt like I beat you… that I beat the game.”
Chad asked, “Was that a good feeling?”
Miguel said, “Well, yeah.”
Chad continued, “So how do you think the crew feels when they tell you they finished a row and are ready to have you inspect it… and you cannot find any bugs?”
Miguel said, “Like they did a good job. Maybe a little bit proud.”
“Damned straight they feel that way.” Chad said, “They know it is not your idea. They know that I directed you to do that, so they not only beat your expectations, they beat mine.”
“And tomorrow morning there will be three eggs at breakfast for everybody who wants them. More bugs means more eggs. Not from me, but from the ducks.”
“Sacramento is sending the welfare people to check out our operation, and we have a problem.” Mardi said at dinner later that evening.
“Why’s that?” asked Chad.
“The crew weighs too much. I bet they have all gained at least ten pounds since they started.” Mardi said. “You know that is going to raise a bunch of questions, starting with the government assuming that we are hording food.”