TRIALS OF AN ANGEL Part 8: A Good Start

It was lucky the “The Big Green” (as our people called it) occurred in June. The summer perfect; a wonderful mixture of warm sun-blessed days and gentle summer rain. The crops were high and the orchards full of plump fruits. Harvesting could no longer be done by work-bots, but Terry and Alan somehow got the threshing-bot working. We had three months to organise picking and cutting gangs. The grain stores still had plenty in them from the previous year.

Connecting power was the biggest problem. My boys worked together and also brought in youngsters willing to learn. Using batteries and small chargers cobbled together from wrecked andros and broken bots they were able to supply meagre lighting to homes. In summer heating wasn’t a problem. Cooking food was – everything powered by electricity.

I called regular community moots. Folks could raise their problems and discuss ways to solve them. I got the idea from the old Viking “things” I’d learnt about in social history tutorials. We decided to set up permanent barbeques for everybody to use until we found a way to generate enough power for home cooking. They were a big hit with the kids. It strengthened the community and lifted our spirits. With so much woodland on the estate fuel was not a problem. A blueish haze tended to hang over the houses on still summer evenings. We found the effect very homely and soon grew accustomed to smoky flavoured meals.

It took months before a permanent electrical supply could be rigged. The ugly grey building that was Tech-Centre was the source of power. The roof was covered with groups of two-metre high pyramids arranged in spirals. Hundreds of high yield solar panels covering them provided power. Much of the wiring was burnt out and some panels weren’t working. My boys and some “apprentice” young guys working together managed to find enough cable and spare panels in the Tech stores to re-connect them and run a line to gebiets grid (which also needed repair). A hard dangerous job. There were some injuries, usually when climbing on or off the roof.

As winter approached they ran out of time to repair the giant battery bank designed to ensure constant supply in all weathers. Cleaning the panels daily supplied just about enough power to get us through the darkest months. Cold and perilous work for the lads who volunteered.

The winter of 2100-01 passed OK. There were a couple of miscarriages. Sad though they were, it wasn’t unusual. Doc Sophie said it was due to a “glitch” in women generated through IVF-cloning causing a weakness of the uterine lining. Half of all pregnancies failed. The problem had always been with us. It slowed the planned growth of our community and, I assume, all those around the World.

We’d got through the winter. As 2101 opened things were looking good.  Abundant grain in the stores. A lake well stocked with trout and plenty of chickens for eggs and meat. Our dairy herd thrived. We learned how to preserve fruit and potatoes. The cool stores used by the andros were functional, but took too much power so we only used one for keeping fresh food for the children.

Our people were well on board with learning new skills. They seemed to welcome a new found independence and began organising themselves into layered groups with the older members taking more responsibility for day-to-day running. It took pressure off my girls allowing them more time for their own families and planning training sessions.

Thanks to Terry’s skill we had a working bot-plough rigged to follow manual instructions. It was a bit wonky, but we managed to get the fields prepared as soon as the ground softened. Sowing wheat and barley began early because it had to be done by hand. Each morning for a fortnight the sun rose over teams of women – a few times including myself – panned out across mist layered fields flinging seed from shoulder bags in every direction. Each morning ended with a gathering of tired but giggly girls chatting over cups of malt tea brewed in a big-old saucepan on an open fire.

By May the trees the orchards were full of white and pink blossom. The corn fields foot high with young wheat and barley. The vegetable gardens green and crammed with bean, pea, tomato, carrot, potato and more. We hadn’t perfected planting, but it looked pretty good considering it was our first non-AI growing season. Life was quiet allowing everybody a short break before picking began.

Things were good. Remembering those days always brings a tear.

Image of Tha Agricultural Calender by Pierto De Crescenzi c.1470

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture#/media/File:Crescenzi_calendar...