History Changers: Expedition 2022

  Chapter 3

  In the Western tradition, we have focused on teaching as a skill and

  forgotten what Socrates knew: teaching is a gift, learning is a skill. -Peter Drucker

  At first light I got up and headed back for David’s garden. I ran straight up the path and burst into his house without knocking. David was drinking a strange black liquid from a metal pannikin.

  “Good morning Andy. You said early, but I didn’t expect you quite this early!” yawned David.

  “I know. But Kojak said you were awake. I asked him first.” I replied.

  “Hmmm... I was only awake because the overgrown teenager pretended to be a rooster three inches from my ear!” groused David.

  Kojak laughed roguishly.

  “Sorry Kojak woke you up. I had to come extra early because I don’t know if I’ll be able to visit you very long. My parents are talking of continuing their search around 9 am. And they might make me go with them today. Actually I thought that’d be a good idea anyway. Because if they get too close to your perimeter hologram, Kojak and I can sneakily lead them away from it.”

  “I see. Would you like a coffee?”

  I sniffed the black liquid he was holding.

  “No thanks. It smells weird. I’ll have another drink of your wife’s lemonade though.”

  David grinned.

  “Can we explore your garden while you drink your coffee and I drink my lemonade?”

  “That sounds like an interesting start to the day. Where would you like to explore?”

  “Everywhere. As long as we end up back near the end of the path near the bananas. There’s this funny smelling plant with orange round balls on it. I want to know what it’s called and whether it’s propagated by cuttings, seeds or bulb division.”

  “Hmmm. It sounds like someone was reading that gardening book of mine yesterday when he got back...”

  “I learnt so much!” I replied enthusiastically. “Before I leave Zone 5 I want you to show me how to graft plants... And how to strike cuttings. Actually I brought a book with me to show you in exchange. I’ve been secretly reading it... It’s a BE science book. From Karratha University library. I thought you might be interested in it.”

  I handed David the book. He glanced at the cover and cleared his throat softly.

  “Where did you get this book Andy?”

  “It was in Grandpa’s old trunk back at my house. It’s all about different technologies available back in the 20th Century. There’s an entry about E/M weather modification. And another entry about alternative fuels - it says that fuel could be derived from algae - can you believe that?! There’s even an entry about a Tesla electric vehicle. Unfortunately it doesn’t have any schematics.”

  David flicked slowly through the book and moistened his lips.

  “Is something the matter? Your lips are twitching.”

  “No. I just recall getting a book by this title out of the library myself. Shortly before the Event.”

  “Oh... I’m sorry that the book triggered sad memories in you. Of people you knew who died in the Event. I didn’t think about that. I shouldn’t have showed you the book.”

  David took a thoughtful sip on his coffee.

  “Billions of people died because of the Event Andy. But dwelling on that fact won’t ever bring them back. The past can’t be changed. But some of us can alter the present to create a better future for those who remain. Which is what I’ve spent my life doing and dreaming of doing.”

  “I want to spend my life doing the same thing. But I don’t think I want to be a Watcher when I finish at the Institute. They say I’m bright because I’m several years ahead in my studies. But their studies are boring. I fully understand that the Watchers don’t want people to pursue certain fields of science because they want to prevent another catastrophe like the Event. But teaching people what to think instead of how to think is stifling true progress. I mean - just imagine David. If people could grow their own fuel, or use electric vehicles to travel between zones. That would revolutionize life for the survivors in every zone! If only I could find out more details about alternative fuels.”

  “Hmmm... Well, a friend of mine is more of an authority on the topic than I am, but if I remember rightly the Australian military grew algae experimentally back in the 1980’s and they discovered it thrived in Australian conditions. And before the Event, algae fuel was being used as jet fuel on commercial flights overseas... So potentially people in Zone 1 could grow their own fuel oil. It doesn’t require good quality water.”

  My mind was whirling as I absorbed the new information.

  “I’d get growled at big time if my mum knew I was asking a survivalist about alternative technologies, but do you know anything about EVs?” I asked breathlessly.

  David’s eyes twinkled with amusement.

  “Well... I know there were several concept EVs. A couple of car manufacturers even attempted to mass produce them. And many EVs had comparable torque to cars which used fossil fuel - except they were less polluting. I recall watching a video on the internet when I was about your age - it showed how a Tesla vehicle won a race against a Ferrari - which was a performance vehicle which ran on fossil fuel.”

  “Rad! Were Tesla EVs popular?”

  “Many people liked them. But unfortunately only the wealthy could afford to own Tesla EVs. They were up to ten times more expensive than cars that ran on fossil fuels. And the government weren’t overly keen for ordinary people to own them either.”

  “Why not?” I asked as we meandered around the garden.

  “Well in Australia, the government generated wealth from fuel purchases. So they didn’t actively encourage car manufacturers to produce affordable EVs - otherwise they stood to miss out on income from fuel tax revenue. Something similar happened in the United States too. Back in the late 20th Century, General Motors made two cars - one was an electric vehicle with zero polluting emissions; the other was a Hummer which guzzled fossil fuel and produced lots of polluting emissions. Anyway the people who bought the Hummers could claim $100,000 in tax deductions from their government - which virtually paid for their fossil fuel vehicles. But consumers could only claim $4,000 in tax deductions for their EVs.”

  “But why did a government favour a polluting technology over a less polluting one?”

  “Well... that’s a loaded question Andy,” replied David.

  He paused and picked some red heart-shaped berries off some low growing plants. He popped one into his mouth and handed one to me to try as well. They melted in my mouth, and I eagerly filled my mouth with more as I listed to David.

  “The contest between polluting and environmentally friendly technologies started right back when motor vehicles were invented. In the early 1900’s, before cars were mass produced, only about one third of all vehicles on the road ran on fossil fuels. Another third ran on steam. And the remaining third were electric vehicles. They were all much of a muchness in terms of power and range. Except the cars that ran on steam and the electric vehicles had zero emissions compared to those that ran on fossil fuels of course. Anyway - back in those days it was common for there to be fairs where inventors showed off their latest inventions. And at one of these fairs, a fella named Rudolf Diesel showed off a new type of engine he had invented that could also power vehicles.”

  “The diesel engine?”

  “Ah ha. Rudolf Diesel originally designed his engine to run on a variety of fuels including sunflower oil and peanut oil. He publically described his engine as ‘one which even the poor could afford to use’ because the fuels it ran on could be grown by people on their farms. Biodiesel enthusiasts maintained it would have even run on algae oil. And it could also run on the oil extracted from these plants...” he added, plucking off a seedpod and splitting it open to reveal the seeds.

  “What’s the plant called?” I asked curiously.

  “Canola... We use the oil from these seeds for cooking, lighting, salad dressing, as a lubricant and as a su
bstitute for diesel... Unfortunately we only have a crude press to extract the oil so it’s a frustrating process...”

  David glanced over towards a shed-like structure wistfully. I waited for him to continue.

  “Hmmm... Where was I? That’s right... Telling you about Rudolf Diesel... His engine design was just starting to take off when he died under suspicious circumstances in 1913. After his death, the petroleum industry labelled one of the by-products of their gasoline distillation process ‘diesel’ fuel – purportedly in his honour. Cheap diesel fuel became the most common fuel for the ‘diesel’ engine and people gradually forgot they could run it on oils that they grew on their farms. And as time went by, the oil companies and car manufacturers ‘improved’ the diesel engine - so that it would only run on diesel - not home-grown alternatives...”

  Ω

  “Nando! Breakfast is nearly ready!” called out Mani.

  Silence.

  “Where is that child?” she muttered softly to herself.

  Leo glanced at Mani’s wrinkled brow and raised his eyebrows. He could sense her fragile mood - they were both a little flat. They had both set out on this trip to Zone 5 with a secret agenda. One they hadn’t told their children about... Both of them had hoped that they might find someone... anyone... who knew what had happened to their mothers fourteen years ago... It was always in the back of their minds... The not knowing for sure whether they were dead... The faintest hope that they weren’t...

  Leo glanced at his wristwatch.

  “Where’s Nando Kojak?” he asked.

  “He is 539 metres west of here, but he’s ambling back in this direction. Would you like me to hurry him along?”

  “No. I feel like a little walk myself. I’ll meet him halfway.”

  Leo looked around at the bewildering vista of dust and struggling vegetation.

  “Which way’s west Kojak?”

  “See the rising sun. Head towards it.”

  “Er... Of course...” murmured Leo. “I should know that.”

  “It used to bamboozle your father-in-law too,” replied Kojak. “Before the Event the sun rose in the east. After the Event the sun rose in the west. It took him months to get his bearings.”

  Leo moistened his lips and walked over to Mani.

  “Kojak says Nando’s gone for a walk that-a-way. I’ll go find him for you love. We’ll be back shortly,” he added, pecking Mani on the cheek affectionately.

  Ω

  “So that implies the oil companies intentionally held back the development of alternative fuels!” I said breathlessly. “I wonder if my dad knows that...”

  David eyed me perspicaciously.

  “Hmmm... Perhaps we should end this conversation... Otherwise you might get a tongue lashing from your mother - for letting an old survivalist fill that bright young mind of yours with conspiracy theories!”

  “Mum’s the word!” I laughed defiantly.

  His face crinkled into a grin.

  “Talking of forbidden fruit, these are ready.”

  David plucked a green round fruit off a huge tree and bit into it. It made a crunching sound as he chewed away. I watched him for a moment then copied him. The juice ran down my chin.

  “So do you think they held back the development of alternative fuels?” I persisted.

  “Well... I don’t know how intentional the oil companies’ actions were, but let’s just say some mighty curious things happened in the 20th Century. Rudolf Diesel died shortly after he refused to sell his invention to an oil company... Stan Meyer was working on a device which fractured water into hydrogen and oxygen so vehicles could use water as fuel and it’s claimed he also met an untimely death after he refused an offer to buy his idea. Another inventor of an alternative technology was committed to a mental institution... another fell to his death off a train - the media reported he was drunk but his family and friends said he never touched alcohol... Backyard inventors were also heavily fined or imprisoned for ‘manufacturing and using experimental fuel’. And there was a media uproar when farmers grew sugar cane for producing ethanol instead of food... Basically if the alternative technology was likely to significantly reduce the demand for fossil fuel, there was a disconcerting trend that the inventor of that technology was paid off, ridiculed, threatened, harassed or killed. Or his invention was bought out, ‘shelved’, canned or opposed...”

  “It sounds like it was risky to invent anything that used alternative fuels before the Event,” I said, shaking my head slowly.

  “Yes and no. Alternative technologies that were partly dependent on petroleum industry - like hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells - received minimal opposition. But completely petroleum-free alternatives - like EVs and algae fuel - received limited assistance or had their funding cut once they showed promise... And they were subject to vehement opposition campaigns by the media. For instance cars that ran on wood-gas and steam were deemed ‘environmentally unfriendly’ because they used wood as fuel. And some activists said EVs were ‘environmentally unfriendly’ because they increased the demand for electricity which was generated by coal.”

  “But wasn’t some electricity generated by wind and solar power BE?”

  “Yes. And while coal was perceived as a polluting fuel - it was surprisingly clean because it was burned in a controlled environment with the right amount of air to support complete combustion and the emissions were monitored and filtered before they were released. I remember my dad telling me that it was healthier to breathe in the air near a power station than to sit in the middle of peak hour traffic breathing in the emissions from thousands of fossil-fuel vehicles... I think it would be fair to say, that if the technology hadn’t been held back, those thousands of peak hour vehicles might have been EVs that were only emitting non-polluting water vapour...”

  He stopped talking as he realized my lips were trembling.

  “I seem to have upset you,” he said gently.

  “They sound just like the Watchers!” I blurted out. “The way they discourage and ban useful technologies!”

  David hesitated.

  “Well... The Watchers might not agree with your statement, but you’re right - the scientific community’s current stance of holding back progress is very much like history repeating itself, although for different reasons.”

  My heart leapt within excitement.

  “You’re the first person I’ve ever spoken to in my whole life that feels the same as I do!”

  “You’re the first young person I’ve met in a long while that feels the same as I do,” replied David reflectively.

  “So did you ever get to drive an E.V made by one of the car manufacturers? Back in the olden days?” I asked.

  David grinned.

  “No. They were all crushed before I was old enough to drive!”

  “Crushed?” I echoed with disbelief.

  “Ah ha. There were some very successful family-sized EVs built back in the 1980’s and 1990’s by General Motors. The people who leased them loved them - they could drive them all day and they just plugged them in at night to mains power - like charging a laptop or mobile phone’s battery. Mechanics loved them too because they were easy to service and they didn’t get dirty like they did working on fossil fuel cars. Then one day GM recalled all their perfectly working EVs and despite huge customer protest they crushed them! And it wasn’t just GM who crushed their customers’ EVs. Around the same time other car manufacturers crushed and shredded theirs too. I remember seeing a video on the internet about the fiasco. It was called Who killed the electric car?”

  “That’s crazy!” I said hotly. “Destroying something that worked well to prevent the idea from catching on!” I groused. “Did they do the same thing to algae fuel?”

  “Well... I recall an algae oil project in the Nevada Desert was canned. There was a fuel crisis at the time - oil was very expensive and the researchers showed the government of the day that they could successfully meet America’s need for fossil fuel by farming
algae on land that was not suitable for agriculture. Or in other words America could grow their own algae fuel without buying any oil from overseas. You would have thought the government would have been excited at the solution to their fuel crisis. Instead funding was cut to the algae fuel research and the whole algae farming project was inexplicably shut down a few months later.”

  I frowned and rubbed my forehead.

  “Have you finally got information overload young fella?” smiled David.

  “Nah. I could learn off you all day. But I don’t understand something... Fossil fuels are inaccessible these days, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “So alternative technologies aren’t in competition with them these days, right?”

  “Ah ha.”

  “So why have the Watchers never considered EVs or algae fuel as solutions to Zone 1’s transport issues?”

  “Because they’re forgotten technologies,” replied Dad, as he stepped through the hologram, metres from where David and I were standing.

  Ω

  “Kojak!” we scolded in unison.

  Dad fired a look of silent reprimand in my direction then glanced at David curiously.

  “Leo went looking for Andy because it was breakfast time,” explained Kojak from David’s wristwatch. “And then he detected the aroma of brewed coffee in the air.”

  “Good coffee,” supplemented Leo. “It triggered a fond memory of my father. For a moment I... I thought...”

  Dad’s voice trailed off. He cleared his throat softly.

  “Leo! Where are you?”

  Mum’s voice was sharp with alarm from behind the hologram.

  “Dad! We can’t see you. Have you turned into a ghost?” added Gem.

  “Power off Kojak. They sound distressed,” said David.

  The hologram flickered and vanished. Mum rushed up to us both and hugged Dad desperately. I had never seen her run so fast.

  “Leo!! Thank God! I thought...”

  Dad pressed her trembling body into his chest. Silently reassuring her. I could sense David watching them both intently.

  Mum drew a steadying breath and spontaneously hugged me as well.

  “Nando!! Are you alright?”

  “Course I’m alright. There’s nothing around here to hurt me mum. Ask Kojak.”

  “No I meant, I thought for a terrible moment that you and your father had met the same fate as...”

  Mum left the sentence unfinished and blinked as though she had only just noticed the flourishing garden. She reached out and brushed the strange orange fruit I had wanted to ask David about with her fingertips. Tenderly. Reminiscently.

  “You remember eating them don’t you?” said David, unexpectedly addressing Mum.

  Mum looked at David and went to answer him but then seemed to change her mind.

  David plucked a leaf growing on the plant with the orange fruit and crushed it between his fingertips. He held his fingers out millimetres from Mum’s nose.

  “Remember the scent of the leaves as you plucked them from the vine?” he said gently.

  Dad eyed them both curiously.

  David wordlessly broke open one of the orange-skinned balls and handed half of it to Mum. To my astonishment she started eating it without hesitation.

  Hear-a-pin-drop silence. I impatiently broke it.

  “David was about to tell me all about the orange-skin fruit when Dad dropped in. What’s it called Mum?” I asked.

  “It’s a tomato...” said Mum, handing me a piece. “You eat the flesh and spit out the seeds...”

  “...to grow more tomatoes,” finished David, wiping his watery eyes with his fingertips.

  Ω

  David had regained his composure, but for some reason Mum was crying now. Dad had his arm wrapped supportively around her, but I could tell he was mega-stressed too.

  “Amani... Your name means peace,” said David softly.

  Gem and I exchanged wide-eyed glances.

  “How do you know Mum’s name, David?” I asked curiously.

  “I chose it.”

  Mum bit her lip. Dad looked shell-shocked.

  “Grandpa!” I beamed.

  “Well I’m only used to David, but I suppose I could get used to Grandpa.”

  “Sick! I’ve wanted to meet you all my life!” I burst out, holding my hands out palms up. “This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”

  David grinned and hi-fived me like we were both teenagers.

  “Does he feel like a ghost?” asked Gem cautiously.

  “Of course he doesn’t!” I chided.

  “Have you ever felt a ghost before?”

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know he’s not a ghost?”

  “Because the other day Kojak told me Grandpa was alive and that he’d been working in his garden. And he’s obviously still alive now - he’s breathing and walking. And eating tomatoes!”

  “How come Kojak told you that Grandpa was alive?”

  “I asked him. And before you say that’s not fair, Kojak would have told you he was alive too if you’d asked him.”

  Mum and Dad exchanged stunned-mullet looks.

  “Do you think ghosts like tomatoes Nando?” persisted Gem.

  I eye-rolled.

  “Gem if you keep this up, Grandpa’s gonna wish he was a ghost!”

  David stifled an amused chuckle. Dad hesitantly extended his hand.

  “Hello David. You’re looking pretty healthy for a 55 year old ghost.”

  David laughed warmly and draped an arm around Dad’s back. Dad still looked kinda stressed out, but managed to smile faintly.

  “How about a cup of your father’s favourite blend?” suggested David. “You lead the way Andy.”

  If it’s green or wriggles, it’s biology. If it stinks, it’s chemistry.

  If it doesn’t work, it’s physics. -Handy Guide to Science