Alexis Latner: The Life-Blood of the Land

Tinaja gasped. “ Petrochems! I studied that in Ship school. We examined precious little samples—plastics, solvents, fertilizers.” She pulled a wrinkled tube of bum ointment out of her pocket. “Medicine.”

“Petroleum is the most useful stuff in creation,” said Ev. “We had no idea that it existed on this planet—that there’d ever been plant and animal life in such abundance as to turn into reserves of oil—except for one round of speculation years ago. Too farfetched to waste resources looking into, I thought.” Ev sighed deeply.

Tinaja smeared burn ointment on Mark’s hands. Mark leaned on the counter. He felt dizzied, as new ideas surged and glittered in his mind. Star-burned ecosystem. Petrochemicals. Soil polymer. Holding up his dripping hands, he blurted, “Now we can green the land!”

“What?” Tinaja asked. “How?”

“Let me demonstrate.” Ev produced a vial from his coat pocket and poured a small pile of substance on the counter. “Soil polymer.”

Ev sprinkled water onto the polymer. It absorbed the water like a sponge. He dripped more water onto the polymer, which kept sucking it up, swelling. The scant handful of plastic sand turned into a gelatinous mass.

Tinaja poked the swollen polymer. It quivered brightly.

Mark straightened. His back ached, but the weight of the world had just rolled off his shoulders.

Ev explained, “This material absorbs four hundred times its weight in water. Mixed in the soil, it does wonders for water retention. With enough of it, Mark’s outfit can turn this land green as grass. Not in my lifetime, but in yours.”

Tinaja let out a joyful cry and flung her arms around Mark. She exclaimed, “Surely the oil isn’t just here—there must be reserves all over the planet!”

Mark’s heart lurched at hearing another and even brighter hope than he’d expected, like the sun rising after the first flush of dawn. “Then we’ll use it to make the whole world green again.” He returned Tinaja’s embrace as Ev beamed at him over her shoulder. “Not in our lifetimes,” Mark added. “But someday.”

Editor’s Note: This story is a sequel to “A Pillar of Stars by Night,” which appeared in our January 1996 issue.