him as he puts together the fast trip he's had and this incident. He mutters
to himself.
It's them.
His oldest son is looking at him with a puzzled look, but gets no explanation.
_______________________________
A patch of cat tails is in a marshy area abutting a stream. There are woods in
the backdrop. The cat tails are several feet thick, growing where the water is
only a foot or less deep, their brown seed pods not yet mature so the seeds
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have not yet been released. One of the pod stalks starts wigging back and
forth, and then drops straight down.
A frog is sitting on a rock amidst the cattail patch. A sharpened stick comes
zinging out from the cattail patch, toward the side of the frog. The frog
croaks.
_______________________________
The pot has a lid on it and is jiggling as the water inside is boiling
furiously. A frog leg can be seen sticking out of the pot, the foot and part
of the leg visible. A cattail leaf is also sticking out, plastered against the
side of the small pot.
I know it’s tough. Eat as much of it as you can.
The family is squatting around the boiling pot, the youngest son looking
unconvinced. They are very dirty from days on the road without baths or clean
clothes. Colonel Cage’s wife’s hair is tangled with small sticks caught in the
tangle here and there. She is smiling at her husband with unabashed
admiration.
We’re going to be taking the leftovers with us, so
don’t expect anything better for awhile. This will
keep you going.
The youngest son, looking a bit despondent, puts a cattail seed pod to his
mouth, like a corn dog, and takes a munch. Finding the taste tolerable, his
face relaxes and he starts eating with gusto.
_______________________________
Colonel Cage and his wife and sons are walking in through the entry of the
dome city, wet and looking tired but obviously deeply happy. Danny, having a
morning cup of coffee with Red, splashes hot coffee on himself by jerking his
cup at seeing the family, trying to raise his hand up to point while still
holding the cup. He's choking on his coffee as he talks through coughs.
Its them! They made it! Damn if they didn't make it.
Red's craggy face is wrinkled with happiness, but he just sits and takes it
all in, not moving or saying anything.
Big Tom's voice booms out combined with Billy's chirping voice, as they greet
the new family.
You found them! Damn! Here, have a seat, have my seat.
_______________________________
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Billy is giving Colonel Cage’s two boys a tour of the dome city, while also
still exploring it himself. Both Colonel Cage’s boys have now had a bath and
are wearing fresh clothes. Billy is using the tour as an excuse to poke around
in places he has not yet explored, using his tour guide voice as an entry
pass, or so he hopes.
. . And here on the lower level, ah . .
Billy opens a door on the level that is below the living quarter. This level
does not have a patio, just doors that lead out onto the grassy center. There
is a pathway around this level, a concrete walkway close to the outer walls of
this level, but nothing that would hint at what lies behind the doors.
Billy charges in through the door, hoping his bravado and tour guide voice
buys him an excuse at whatever he finds behind the door. He comes face to face
with a nanny goat, standing on a milking station.
Baaaa
Billy stops shock still, the other two boys bumping into him, the lot
ricocheting back a step or two.
Whoa!
The woman milking the goat casts a sleepy glance at the boys, nonplussed, and
continues with her morning task. The room is filled with several goats, a
couple kids, and a billy goat tied up temporarily over at the side. The billy
goat lowers its head slightly while looking at the brash newcomers,
contemplating the threat. At the side of the room there is a feeding trough,
filled with what looks like slimy greenery. Finding his voice, Billy
continues.
. . goat’s milk. And we feed them, ahm . .
The sleepy woman, seeing what is going on, smiles to herself and turns her
head.
We feed them algae. Grows quickly in bright light and
effluent. We recycle everything here, including our
waste.
Billy is momentarily set back, his face a blank, not knowing her terms, but
then gets a hint of what she is talking about.
Yeah, we grow stuff in the toilet water.
Casting a glance at the billy goat, which is now starting to huff, Billy backs
into Colonel Cage’s two sons and turns to push past them out the door.
Common.
_______________________________
The next room is a brilliantly lit room with a hydroponic gardening setup.
Billy’s face pops into view, with Colonel Cage’s two sons just behind him,
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peering and bobbing on either side for a view. They all push into the room.
Long trays on either side of the room are cascading down the wall, stacked
such that the upper tray is close to the wall, the next tray offset from the
wall slightly, and so on so that the vegetation in each tray can grow without
hindrance as to height. One side has something that looks like lettuce or
spinach. The other side is growing strawberries, which are filled with red
berries.
The runners, producing new plants, are hanging down from each tray. A man is
walking along the strawberry trays, inspecting the runners and snipping off
new plants along the runners that look mature enough to stand on their own.
These young plants have roots, but the roots are not in the hydroponic trays,
just hanging in the air. The man turns his head and smiles at the boys.
Hello boys.
Seeing potential helpmates, the man puts his collection basket down and walks
to the back of the room where there is what looks like a compost pile in a
bin. He picks up a pitchfork, plastic with dull prongs, and begins to toss the
compost. The compost is filled with red wriggler earthworms, which turn and
try to burrow back into the compost when they are exposed to the light. He
takes a spray nozzle from a wall clip and sprays the compost, kicking a
collection tray under the compost drain as he does so. Brown water is
collecting in the tray.
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While he’s waiting for the water to drain, he picks out brown chunks, the worm
casts, and puts them in another collection basket at the side. He also grabs
mature worms, placing them in yet another collection basket fixed at the side.