Winters held up the arm that was holding the smooth skinned, green velociraptor looking creature. The camera zoomed right in on it for a close-up for a few seconds.
“What – the – hell – is – that?” Terry asked absently. “Look at that ugly son of a bitch!”
“I know,” said Cathy. “Hey, none of ours are getting like that are they?”
“Nooo,” answered Terry. “Our stupid chickens won’t touch their feed. They keep eating the rabbits’ feed.”
“Well, maybe they’re smarter than we think. Go out there right now and put away all of the chicken feed with corn in it, and only feed them rabbit feed until they get this shit figured out, ok?”
“Yeah, good idea, because we aren’t ever eating anything that looks like that shit.”
Terry jumped up and headed out back. Cathy continued watching, eating her store brand corn chips and salsa, and drinking a Coke.
Terry came back in after a few minutes. The news had moved on to a different story. Cathy was in the kitchen putting her snacks away. “Did you get it all put away safely?” she asked.
“You betcha,” Terry said. “We’re gonna have to get real serious about natural feeding all of our critters, come spring.”
“Yeah, really,” Cathy agreed. “No more of that genetically modified shit gets fed to our chickens until then though. Ok?”
“Ok,” Terry said. “Now, let’s go to bed.”
25
Washington, DC
Monday, Jan 4, 2021
The Oval Office
President Calvin James scheduled another meeting of his Feed the World advisory team. In attendance were:
Chief of Staff - Carl Johnson
Sec. of Agriculture - Charles Blayton
Director DHS - Dennis Scott
Sec. of the Interior - Dorothy Garfield
Sec. of the Treasury - Paul Langdon
Food Czar - Rusty Whitman
Walsanto Seeds CEO – Michael Lawson
Rusty was the first to be seated at the round table in the Oval Office. His nerves had him thinking a mile a minute about everything at once, but nothing in particular. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a couple of Rolaids and popped them in his mouth while his stomach continued to churn. He smelled Pledge wax on the table. It was the same that his mother always used when he lived at home. He reminded himself to sit straight. He folded his hands to keep from fidgeting with them, just as Carl Johnson entered quietly. They just met eyes, and exchanged nods. One by one, everyone else entered and sat down quietly. Rusty noticed that he didn’t appear to be the only one who was nervous. It seemed to be unanimous. Last to arrive was President Calvin James. Everyone stood.
“Good morning everyone,” began President James. “Have a seat, please. I called this group together today for several reasons. We have information to be shared, to keep us all on the same page. We have a problem that we need to get to the root of, and find a solution for. Finally, I have ears only instructions for this group that will stay only within this group. Let’s begin with Paul Langdon updating us on the financial status of our Feed the World initiative. Paul?”
Rusty watched Paul push back his chair and stand, as he tended to do. Rusty’s eyes went back to the President. He looked annoyed. It seemed like every time he looked at President James, he caught him staring back at him. Was he being paranoid, or was something going on?
“Good morning,” Paul said with a strong, sure voice, drawing all eyes to him. “I’m very happy to report that we are doing much better than we had hoped for. Meaning, we aren’t spending near what we thought we’d have to in order to accomplish this. It seems that just standing up to our fears has paid off well. Instead of bleeding dollars one-way to China for cheap everything, and acting like an irresponsible person with a credit card, paying the minimum payment each month, we are now almost debt free as a nation! We have more people working, at higher wage jobs, so tax revenues are up. Farm subsidies are non-existent due to nearly 100% participation in Feeding the World. Those two changes alone, just since we last met here with this full group have netted enough to pay for the $2.5B expenditure to set up Walsanto Foods, and we still hold all of our shares of stock too. Farm equipment production and sales have equaled decreases in transportation related production and sales. That has been more or less and equal shift. Unemployment is the lowest it has ever been in recorded history. Basically, if someone wants to work, there is work waiting for them now. This has been undeniably the best financial move we’ve ever made, betting on our own people. As export numbers come in this year-end, we are expecting to see a trade surplus. Meaning we’re finally selling more than we’re buying as a nation once again.
Other countries are showing financial improvements as well. With more discretionary income, their people are spending more, just like we would. What they want is what we have. Meaning they want to buy what we have to sell now, for a change. We expect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.”
With that, the Secretary of the Treasury took his seat, amidst a rare burst of applause.
“So there’s some great news,” said President James. It feels good to have things go well when you try to do the right thing, doesn’t it? Rusty Whitman, you’ve been all over this country, working tirelessly to promote and grow this campaign, both here at home, and all around the world. Tell us how we’re doing. What are you seeing out there?”
Rusty had already decided not to stand. Rather, he sat up as tall as he could at the table. He started off with a smile, as planned. “I too, have two parts to my presentation to this group today,” he said, looking from face to face making good eye contact. “I’ll be honest with you, I was prepared to meet resistance back in the beginning of my appointment to this position, but have been met with very little. It’s like people everywhere already knew that we needed to make a change from how we’d been feeding ourselves and with only minor grumbling, have embraced the idea of local food and made it work for us. That’s really how I’ve looked at this all along, for anyone who doesn’t know me well yet. Instead of shipping food from one corner of the country to the other, or even one country to another, we are simply shipping the seeds. Now that’s not perfect, but it’s like a 99% improvement. Fully 30% of our national fuel consumption has been traditionally utilized for driving food up and down the highways in thirsty big rigs. We have made the first and most important steps to eliminate the waste of transportation by shipping these seeds via USPS, who needed the business. Seeds that are almost fool-proof. Seeds that are customized for their destination, and will grow like nothing ever seen before by man. Seeds that actually allow the growing of meaningful amounts of corn in small spaces, in some cases literally steps away from the backdoor.
“With the cooperation of Walsanto Food Systems,” he nodded to Michael Lawson, the CEO, who beamed happily, “the seeds are available literally everywhere. They fly off the racks in packages of 1,000 seeds at brick and mortar Walsanto locations around the world, and since that is the only physical location that they are available, people flock there to get them, also buy other items as long as they’re there, which are making same-store-sales reports very black, and very vertical.”
“You’re stealing my thunder,” said Michael Lawson good naturedly.
“Then, there is walsanto.com providing the same product, in the same packaging, at a slightly higher price to everywhere else, by mail. My sources tell me that we have market penetration to literally every country on the face of the planet, save China. Not saturation, mind you. But a foot in the door. Here in the States, everyone that can get their hands on them are growing them, but our population represents only 4% of the population of the planet. Gentlemen and lady, we have a winner here. We’ll need to expand seed growing operations just as quickly as we can,” Rusty said, looking pointedly at Dorothy Garfield (Secretary of the Interior) who was responsible for allocating Federal lands to this project, then Dennis Scott, Director of DHS. Both smiled and nodded their agre
ement that it would be done.
Right behind the corn now, follows wheat and oats. They are the next most important feed crops and cereal grains. Adding them to the racks at the stores and into the product list at walsanto.com was extremely easy, and just as successful. One by one, we will provide the world with seed to feed themselves with, from our carefully prioritized list.
This brings me to rice. Rice is on our list, but China is doing what China does and flooding the market with rice that is still cheaper than we could produce it, even with this technology, so we have it way down our list. They are providing “golden rice” which is their new product. I personally have not been briefed on it, but I assume that it is their version of our GM/Hybrid corn, wheat and oats. The odd thing is, our researchers tell us that the same method of viral transfection seems to have been used to genetically modify their rice seed that Walsanto Seeds is using on all of ours. We kind of smell a rat, but that’s not my thing, so I’ll stay out of that.”
Rusty felt himself starting to sweat now. This was the time that he had been dreading, the topic of concern that was ruining his stomach and robbing him of sleep. The acid in his stomach began to burn the back of his throat. Unconsciously, he met eyes with President James. The President must have sensed that Rusty was stumbling suddenly, so he spoke up, forcing Rusty to pause.
“That is very, very positive to hear Rusty. Before you continue, I need to interrupt with a question, if I may?”
“Of course Mr. President.”
“Tell us about chickens with gray/green skin that are beginning to lose feathers and being hatched without any. Is this something that we need be concerned with, other than the obvious “weird” factor? Also, what’s causing this?”
Relief! That question took away all pressure of whether to mention this or not. The President had helped him out once again.
“Talk about the elephant in the room. Good question, Mr. President. We’ve had our own labs at USDA run every test imaginable on that skin color. It comes from the combination of bamboo and algae genes that are part of the modification. The color in and of itself is no risk whatsoever. No different than eating dark bread or white bread. It’s still essentially just bread. The gray/green color is something that is, well, weird.
The fact that it IS there, however, has had us puzzled until just recently. That’s not supposed to happen. There is research that suggests that something else present in the corn is causing those genes to be carried forward when the corn is eaten--” began Rusty.
“This terminator gene then?” the President interrupted, looking directly into Rusty’s eyes.
Rusty was caught totally by surprise with this one. He felt his stomach roll over once. Suddenly, all eyes seemed focused on him again, but with more of a “What?” look to them. Nothing to do now, but answer honestly, and see where it led.
“Well, yes and no I’m afraid, Mr. President. Research has just answered that question--” Rusty began.
“Wait, excuse me? Terminator gene? What the hell is a terminator gene?” interrupted Dorothy this time.
Rusty looked from her eyes to President James, who nodded for him to go ahead.
“Research has shown us that there has been an addition to the genetic modification of the corn, wheat and oats designed to kill the second generation seeds, so that they cannot produce more plants by the saving of seeds,” Rusty croaked. He looked at Michael Lawson, who appeared to want to crawl under the table to hide.
“I don’t like the sound of that.” Dorothy replied.
“Neither do I, Dorothy,” said Rusty.
“Why is this necessary, Mr. Lawson?” asked President James. “Is there no other way to protect your patents?”
The room was very quiet now. All eyes focused on Michael Lawson, who said, “Of course there is, but this is another patented property belonging to the Department of Agriculture. It was added under specific orders from Charles Blayton here himself, but I thought that all of you knew that.”
Now it was Blayton’s turn to try crawling under the table. “That’s true,” Blayton said. “I deemed it necessary to protect the tremendous investment made by the United States into this technology.”
“You deemed it necessary?” exclaimed President James practically jumping from his chair to his feet. Did you deem it necessary to sterilize all of the chickens that ate it, and God knows what else? Was it really worth that?”
“I’m afraid that I don’t know what you mean Mr. President.”
“You’re right about that Mr. Blayton. You don’t know. You gave an order about something that you apparently didn’t understand, without seeking the advice of someone who did. In doing so, you’ve caused incalculable trouble for the people you are supposed to be serving. For now, Sir, you are fired! Whether criminal charges will be filed remains to be seen,” the President practically shouted. “Security? Remove Mr. Blayton from the premises. He no longer works here. Confiscate his access card, and walk him out the door.”
Everyone remained frozen in their chairs. The President paced around the office for a few moments before he spoke again. “Things have to be done right from here on out. No rash decisions. Mr. Whitman, Mr. Lawson, I need to know what it takes to take this terminator gene back out of the seeds. I need to know what that does to how well they grow. Mr. Langdon, I need the treasury to assess the financial implications of this, IF word were to get out. Until you hear from me, no one changes a thing. Understand? We’ll have all of the facts this time, before any changes are ordered.”
“Mr. President, shouldn’t we stop all sales and recall one hundred percent of the product out there if we know something is wrong with it? Shouldn’t we warn all of the other countries about it?” Rusty asked.
“We don’t know what we don’t know at this point Mr. Whitman, and until I say so, nobody in this room says one word about this to anyone. Got it? Researchers will do their research, but that’s it until we know more. I’ll not see this country bankrupted by the poor decision of one man. That is all for today everyone. My office will be in contact.”
Security informed the President just as the meeting adjourned, that Charles Blayton was found dead in his car of an apparent self-inflicted wound from a handgun.
26
Washington, DC
Tuesday, Jan 5, 2021
White House Complex
The media panic had spread to the White House. The calm, thoughtful man, with whom Rusty had recently shared a drink and a fishing tale, had suddenly turned into a pissed-off boss, who wanted answers. Yesterday.
Rusty’s only means of appeasing him had been in telling him that Hannah’s team had developed a beta reversal virus that looked promising at the cellular level, but he had also cautioned that she had not yet had time to run sufficient tests to prove its viability. Rusty’s fear was that, just like before, this beta would be used whether it was tested or not.
At the same time that he was demanding the reversal virus be finished, President James held firm on not recalling the seeds that were laced with the terminator gene. He seemed dead set on not admitting that his administration had been at fault. The only concession he had given had been on the production end of Walsanto’s GM/Hybrid products. He secretly ordered the removal of the terminator gene going forward.
That order, which of course Rusty issued, was met with outrage. Afraid that their seeds would now be duplicated, Walsanto Seeds’ CEO initially refused, until a direct phone call and serious ass chewing by President James himself brought him back into line, though grumbling as he went.
The quiet, encouraging chat that Rusty had had with President James before had apparently been forgotten. Lately, their conversations had become a series of accusative questions by the President, followed by direct orders for how he was to proceed.
~
Rusty sought out his trusted friend Jim Ward to bounce this whole mess off of. “… Damn!” Jim whistled. “That sounds serious, Rusty.”
“Jim, what he’s doing just
doesn’t make any sense to me. I mean, I understand that if he flat out admits the truth that his entire power base could come crashing down. He’s already dipped horribly in the polls. I think people have been suspicious that something’s going on for a while. He’s running scared, but why won’t he do the right thing, come clean, and recall all of the Walsanto seed?”
“I’m not defending him, Rusty, but you understand that if word got out that President James’ Feed the World program was wiping out the world’s food supply it would cause an enormous international incident. It might even start a war.”
“That’s probably going to happen anyway,” Rusty said. “People will find out. They can’t keep a lid on this forever. There is substantiated proof that the terminator gene is the cause of the sterility in birds and animals.”
“Speaking of proof, is your researcher safe?” Jim asked.
“Oh shit, Jim! I hadn’t even thought about that. I’ve been dodging bullets coming from the President, the USDA and Walsanto. I haven’t even warned her.”
“She’s probably okay. You didn’t have any other contacts involved in it, did you?”
“Just a county agent and the head of the research department at the university where it was done.” Rusty scanned back through his brain trying to decide if anyone had seen him at Clemson. He’d been dressed plainly and they’d arrived in Gerald’s pickup. He still had the sinking feeling that he might have been watched or tracked through his cell phone. He had to talk to Hannah. He had to make sure that she was safe. How the hell did he do that? They’d be watching every move he made, now.
The Rise of Walsanto (Genetic Apocalypse Book 3) Page 15