Chapter 21

With Sally away on her honeymoon, Betsy was at loose ends. After Chuck’s kidnapping, she just didn’t want to take off for the ocean for a week at a time. At this point, it wasn’t necessary. She had all of the biological data necessary for her dissertation. All that was missing was sufficient tracking data to support her arguments and time would take care of that. She didn’t need to tag any more sharks since she had already tagged far more of them than was necessary for her dissertation. For now, she would wait while the sharks swam across the ocean pursuing whatever agenda sharks pursued and then finish that portion of her dissertation.

She was at her borrowed desk in her borrowed laboratory analyzing the DNA of the various sharks she had taken samples. From the work of other scientists, she had a good idea of which genetic markers on which to focus. The work wasn’t difficult, but it would take time. It seemed to her that suddenly, she had lots of time.

Dr. Parrish entered the laboratory, clearing his throat to get her attention. She turned to face him.

“How are the results?” he asked.

“I’m not done with my analysis of them,” she answered.

He nodded his head in understanding, then asked, “How much longer will it take you?”

“Another week or so,” Betsy answered. “I would have liked to have collected more samples, but the economy isn’t making that possible.”

“I think you have enough of a contribution to finish your dissertation,” Dr. Parrish said.

“I’ve still got to collect sufficient tracking data,” Betsy said.

“That will be material for your research, after you get your degree. I think it is important that you get your degree as soon as possible,” Dr. Parrish said.

“That would be only a third of what I proposed,” Betsy said.

She had wanted to take samples from sharks all over their range, track the sharks that stopped by the island, and then seek for evidence that a few sharks were engaging in genetic mixing by moving from one breeding area into another.

“You’ve got a great start on a lifetime of scientific study. It’s enough of a start to say that you’re qualified to get your doctorate,” Dr. Parrish said.

“I don’t know,” Betsy said.

Dr. Parrish moved around the lab, grabbed a chair from another desk, and brought it over to where Betsy had been working. He took a seat and then looked at her.

“Betsy, I’m going to retire and I’m recommending that they hire you to take may place. You’ll need your degree for that.”

Surprised to learn that he was going to retire, Betsy said, “You’re retiring? Why?”

Dr. Parrish said, “This job isn’t paying at the moment. I can’t work here and keep my family fed.”

“Oh,” Betsy said.

“You don’t need a salary, but you could use the position,” he added.

“I could donate some cell phone minutes,” Betsy said.

He shook his head as he said, “We’ve been trying to raise some food, but there are a lot of problems with that. The past practice of seed companies producing generations of plants that can’t reproduce means that we’ve got a huge shortage of seeds to serve as seed stock. There’s a lot of work to be done in that area, and I am one of the few people who can help.”

“Well, you can do that, as a professor,” Betsy said.

“I could, but that won’t take care of my family in the long run. I’m going to start a business. I want to use plant cloning technologies, like the Dutch use with tulips, to create seed stocks.”

He had investigated the matter and realized that he could create thousands of plants from a single productive seed. Those plants could be grown to a size where they could be transplanted into a field. With a couple of pounds of seeds, he could plant acres of crops which would produce food and a seed stock for the next generation.

The cloning could take place in a relatively small space, since he wouldn’t have to deal with full sized plants. The seedlings could be shipped to larger farms and planted. He would take a small percentage of the crop as payment. Even one percent of the produced crops would be a huge payoff. In time, he could become one of the largest producers of seed stock in the country.

Betsy thought about it, and smiled.

“Could you use an investor?”

“I’ve nearly got the investments that are necessary,” Dr. Parrish said.

“But you can always use a little extra,” Betsy said.

“Yes.”

“Did you know that I am a partial owner of about two thousand farms on the mainland?”

That little bombshell stunned Dr. Parrish. He had no idea that Betsy owned any farms. He knew that she was owner in a number of companies, including the recycling plant that was being built on the island; but that she owned farms, was a complete surprise. She could become his largest customer for seed.

“No. I didn’t know that.”

“I am,” Betsy said with a smile.

“I guess I should be talking to you about seeds, then.”

“Yes, although it would be more accurate to say that we’ll need to talk to the folks who are running the farms.”

“I suppose,” Dr. Parrish said.

Betsy said, “There’s no reason you have to give up your position here. You can oversee the start up of the operation, and then let it run itself.”

“I’m setting it up on the mainland,” Dr. Parrish said.

“I didn’t realize that,” Betsy said sagging down in her chair.

If he was leaving the island, then he couldn’t remain a professor here on campus. She realized that she was going to miss him. She enjoyed their occasional technical discussions tremendously. It was nice having someone around who understood her subject area. She’d miss that.

“That’s where the farms are.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“I’ve got a childhood friend on the mainland who is setting up the facility. He’s an operations engineer, and I think his systems knowledge will be helpful.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’m taking Henry Thibodeaux with me. He suggested automating the cloning process as much as possible. He views it as a technical challenge that is worthy of him.”

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy the challenge,” Betsy said finding that she was also sad about his leaving the island.

“He’s taking Paul with him.”

“I guess he can’t do without someone to do his work for him,” Betsy said, finding that she’d miss Paul, too.

It seemed to her like everyone was leaving the island. She hoped they’d stay around long enough for her wedding.

“Paul’s looking forward to it. He’s from the area where we will be working, so this is his chance to return home with a job.”

“That’s fortunate,” Betsy said glancing up at the sky.

She didn’t believe in coincidence, particularly when the Powers That Be could be involved. There was a slight warming of the gold torque on her arm. She glanced at the torque and knew that more was going on than was apparent.

“I’ve got to thank you,” Dr. Parrish said.

“For what?”

“For giving me the idea to do this,” he answered.

“Me? I don’t remember doing that,” Betsy said puzzled.

The idea of cloning plants to produce seed stock had never crossed her mind. Of course, she had known that getting seed stocks for next year would be a problem. She couldn’t remember telling anyone that it would be worthwhile investigating solutions to the problem.

“When the economy collapsed, you handed me a bag of beans and said that I could plant them for food. They were organic, so that they’d produce seeds that could provide another generation of beans, if I kept a few seeds back for seed stock when I planted them. You then sighed and said that it was going to be rough generating enough seed stock to feed everyone. I thought about what you said, and realized that you were right. I started thinking about how to solve that problem.”

“You’re giving me far too much credit,” Betsy said.

“Well, your words really triggered something in me. I cloned a thousand bean plants at my house.”

“You never said anything about it.”

“I wasn’t sure that it would work.”

“I can see the wisdom in keeping quiet about things like that until you know that it will work.”

He sighed and said, “Finish your analysis, write it up, and we’ll schedule your defense. I’ll talk to the Provost about hiring you as my replacement. If there’s anything this island needs, it is experts in marine biology.”

“Thank you.”

“You and Sally will change these islands forever. I think the future is in good hands,” Dr. Parrish said.

“Thank you very much, but I think you overestimate my contributions,” Betsy said.

Betsy was leaving for home when she noticed Colonel Stewart standing at the entrance to the university talking with another man. The other man looked familiar, but at that distance she couldn’t quite make out who it was. Curious, she headed over to the two men.

When she arrived, she recognized the second man.

Surprised, she said, “What are you doing here, Detective Roberts?”

“We figured we had been gone long enough, and came back to see what’s happened, here,” he answered.

There had been a lot of changes on the island since he had sailed off that morning when Betsy had let him know that the collapse was upon them. It was strange walking around and not seeing gaggles of tourists wandering around like geese. All of the tourist shops were closed, the hotels had been taken over by people who had lost homes, and stores had been replaced by impromptu markets.

“I’m glad you’re back. I’m getting married and you’re invited,” Betsy said.

“Thank you. I’ll let Cat know.”

“You can tell Sanders and Dale, too.”

“They’re back on the boat looking for the next big wave. I doubt we’ll see them for a year or two,” Detective Roberts said.

“I’m not surprised by that.”

Betsy turned to look at Colonel Stewart. The man looked like he had aged a hundred years in the past few months. His hair had turned gray, there were wrinkles around his eyes and on his brow, and he had lost weight.

She said, “Colonel Stewart. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“I’m just having trouble sleeping,” he said.

“Why?”

He just shook his head in answer. No one needed to know the nightmares that kept him from sleeping at night.

Betsy said, “You don’t look happy.”

“I’m happy enough,” he replied.

“I think someone needs to talk to the Governor. Things need to change around here.”

“What do you mean?”

“All of the immediate problems caused by the economic collapse have been addressed. Crime is down, the riots are over, and people are busy getting on with the basics of life. She needs to start planning for the future.”

“I suppose.”

“Colonel, you’ve been doing too many things around here. You need a vacation.”

“I could use one,” he said. His shoulders sagged as he added, “Too bad that I can’t take one.”

“I’m sure you can,” Betsy said. “All you have to do is to find someone to take over some of your duties.”

“That’s all, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s not going to happen any time soon,” Colonel Stewart said.

“Sure it will. You just need to work at it.”

“We’ll see.”

“I’m off to eat. I’ll see you later,” Betsy said.

“Okay,” Colonel Stewart said.

“Nice seeing you back, Detective Roberts.”

“It’s nice to be back,” Detective Roberts replied.

“Bye,” Betsy said, and then ran off towards her apartment.

Detective Roberts watched her go and shook his head.