A Valley to Harness by Jason A. Bartles

Author:Jason A. Bartles [Jason A. Bartles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Two Doctors Media Collaborative LLC
Published: 2024-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

Outside the shops, Brisa hopped off her bike and waited for the crowd to form around her. She reveled in her ability to give impromptu speeches that jazzed everyone up. She would make their cause sound clear and the change, inevitable. She planned to recall the residents’ collective sacrifices, the high regard to which they held the proprietors, and the way they labored without complaint. She needed to demonstrate how far things had fallen and how little their leaders now cared for their wellbeing.

Before Brisa even turned toward the crowd, a voice boomed from behind her. It was Jeannine. She stood on a small box and addressed the protesters. Brisa felt a small jab to her ego—she had been the one to organize this event, after all. A few years ago, she might have allowed this perceived insult to build into a seething rivalry. While Jeannine began to speak, however, her annoyance slipped away. Brisa didn’t need to be the one on the soapbox. As she listened, she even felt pride in seeing Jeannine rise to the occasion.

“Thank you for joining me today,” shouted Jeannine. The sun shone brightly, and she shielded her eyes. “I’m new to this, so bear with me.” A few voices called out to encourage her, and others clapped to approve of each new sentence. “The last week has been unbearable. The quakes are ruining almost everything we’ve built. Look around us at the deplorable state of the Square. The buildings are up, but the butcher’s front door won’t close, there’s shattered glass all over the sidewalk, and at night most of the lampposts are busted, throwing the entire area into darkness. Not to mention how unsafe it feels to walk anywhere for fear that a tree will come down on us at any minute. Our valley was so beautiful a mere eight days ago, a true oasis that we built and maintained, based on our environmental practices. We’re actually doing things right here. We mostly tried on the outside as well. That’s why we’re here now.”

Most of Jeannine’s plan aligned with what Brisa would have said. The valley had fallen into disrepair and not for lack of trying. The residents had been quick to fix as much of the area as possible, but the destruction from the multiple quakes each day outpaced their efforts.

However, Jeannine soon veered off topic, promoting the vision of Sediment Valley as a solarpunk alternative to a world in ecological crisis, as if the people living here were somehow better than everyone else. As if they had earned their right to live in isolation from the outside world. As if half the products they relied on to maintain their level of comfort weren’t harvested, extracted, and manufactured somewhere beyond the security perimeter that, curiously, had not been affected in the least by the earthquakes.

Jeannine, unwittingly, was repeating SustainAble’s propaganda. She refused to see that this exclusionary refuge relied on the same destructive practices that created the climate crisis in the first place.

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