levels, and each level was full of plants. Strawberry plants
lined the aisles in trays stacked on the high shelves with under-mounted
lighting. Lettuce, peas, and beans grew farther down the row. Each shelf had a
bank of grow lights above it and on the bottom of the next shelf, and root
trays below the plants where water and nutrients were made available. To Aria
the rows upon rows of plants should have been beautiful.
But they weren’t healthy plants. She stepped over
to check out the strawberry plants on the shelf to her left. They were brown
and limp.
Aria examined the leaves—those that hadn’t died
were covered with brown lesions. The stems were wilted, wasted away below what
appeared to have once been healthy strawberries. The berries themselves were
shriveled and black.
It seemed indicative of a pesticide or herbicide
poisoning, but here in the clean rooms they didn’t use either one. There was no
reason to. The plants were grown in a sterile environment without exposure to
disease, bugs, or even dirt that could introduce toxins. What could be causing
this?
The story was the same on every shelf.
Fast-moving blight of some kind was sweeping the crops. Aria herself had never
trusted these indoor farms. She much preferred the open fields and the soil.
Perhaps something in the outdoor portion of the facility would give her a clue.
“Can you take me to the outdoor crops?” she asked
Nasani. He nodded, leading her through another decontamination room, where they
discarded their old suits and put on new ones before walking through another
bright blue light.
But Aria’s hopes were wrecked when she saw the
condition of the outdoor plants. They had the same symptoms but had contracted
the disease in greater numbers. There were whole swaths of dead rangkors, zilen,
corn, and melons. The dead corn stalks pointed skyward like accusing fingers.
The sight of so much wasted life made Aria sick. She knelt down and ran her
hands through the soil. There was nothing obvious that could be causing this.
“I assume you’ve run soil tests?” she asked.
“Time and again,” he assured her. “There is
nothing here that wasn’t here two months ago. Nothing that would cause—” Aria
heard how his voice caught, “this.” He gestured widely with his hand.
She looked at the sky. The light from Minea’s sun
was just right for these crops. She crumbled the soil in her hands. It was
loose and rich, obviously well-mixed. She plucked a zilen leaf, turning it over
and over, searching along its hairy veins for eggs or jagged holes that would
show the presence of insects.
“You’ve had these under a microscope?” she asked
Nasani.
He nodded. “There’s no pests that we can see.”
“Are you using pesticides out here? Herbicides
for weed control?”
Nasani nodded. “Only HG9 to keep the krech off
the crops, and Bronicide for the weeds.”
Both were perfectly safe for these crops. She had
seen them used for years without a problem. But things could change.
“Have you tried not using them?” Aria asked. “A
test patch?”
He nodded, gesturing to an area separated by
steel panels. Walking over she could see that the damage was just as extensive.
It wasn’t the herbicides or pesticides.
The dead leaves rustled against Aria’s covered
shoes as she followed Nasani back toward the building. The patch around them
looked like a waning late-autumn field, not the tumble of spring vibrancy that
they should be seeing. They entered and went through the decontamination room,
leaving their suits and booties behind as they entered the main lobby.
Aria was so busy turning the puzzle over in her
mind that she barely glanced up in time to see Theo Talbot enter the lobby and
stop at the front desk.
Theo was well known for his a perfect memory for
faces and names. There was no chance he wouldn’t recognize her. She turned
abruptly to Nasani.
“I’ve got to be going. Thank you for your help.”
She tried not to sound
lined the aisles in trays stacked on the high shelves with under-mounted
lighting. Lettuce, peas, and beans grew farther down the row. Each shelf had a
bank of grow lights above it and on the bottom of the next shelf, and root
trays below the plants where water and nutrients were made available. To Aria
the rows upon rows of plants should have been beautiful.
But they weren’t healthy plants. She stepped over
to check out the strawberry plants on the shelf to her left. They were brown
and limp.
Aria examined the leaves—those that hadn’t died
were covered with brown lesions. The stems were wilted, wasted away below what
appeared to have once been healthy strawberries. The berries themselves were
shriveled and black.
It seemed indicative of a pesticide or herbicide
poisoning, but here in the clean rooms they didn’t use either one. There was no
reason to. The plants were grown in a sterile environment without exposure to
disease, bugs, or even dirt that could introduce toxins. What could be causing
this?
The story was the same on every shelf.
Fast-moving blight of some kind was sweeping the crops. Aria herself had never
trusted these indoor farms. She much preferred the open fields and the soil.
Perhaps something in the outdoor portion of the facility would give her a clue.
“Can you take me to the outdoor crops?” she asked
Nasani. He nodded, leading her through another decontamination room, where they
discarded their old suits and put on new ones before walking through another
bright blue light.
But Aria’s hopes were wrecked when she saw the
condition of the outdoor plants. They had the same symptoms but had contracted
the disease in greater numbers. There were whole swaths of dead rangkors, zilen,
corn, and melons. The dead corn stalks pointed skyward like accusing fingers.
The sight of so much wasted life made Aria sick. She knelt down and ran her
hands through the soil. There was nothing obvious that could be causing this.
“I assume you’ve run soil tests?” she asked.
“Time and again,” he assured her. “There is
nothing here that wasn’t here two months ago. Nothing that would cause—” Aria
heard how his voice caught, “this.” He gestured widely with his hand.
She looked at the sky. The light from Minea’s sun
was just right for these crops. She crumbled the soil in her hands. It was
loose and rich, obviously well-mixed. She plucked a zilen leaf, turning it over
and over, searching along its hairy veins for eggs or jagged holes that would
show the presence of insects.
“You’ve had these under a microscope?” she asked
Nasani.
He nodded. “There’s no pests that we can see.”
“Are you using pesticides out here? Herbicides
for weed control?”
Nasani nodded. “Only HG9 to keep the krech off
the crops, and Bronicide for the weeds.”
Both were perfectly safe for these crops. She had
seen them used for years without a problem. But things could change.
“Have you tried not using them?” Aria asked. “A
test patch?”
He nodded, gesturing to an area separated by
steel panels. Walking over she could see that the damage was just as extensive.
It wasn’t the herbicides or pesticides.
The dead leaves rustled against Aria’s covered
shoes as she followed Nasani back toward the building. The patch around them
looked like a waning late-autumn field, not the tumble of spring vibrancy that
they should be seeing. They entered and went through the decontamination room,
leaving their suits and booties behind as they entered the main lobby.
Aria was so busy turning the puzzle over in her
mind that she barely glanced up in time to see Theo Talbot enter the lobby and
stop at the front desk.
Theo was well known for his a perfect memory for
faces and names. There was no chance he wouldn’t recognize her. She turned
abruptly to Nasani.
“I’ve got to be going. Thank you for your help.”
She tried not to sound
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