Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer
“What’s this, grandma?”
“It’s honey, dear.”
“Honey tastes nice. What is it?”
“It’s what the bees made for us, Matty.”
“Real bees made this?”
“Yes, dear. A long time ago, before they flew away.”
“Where did they go, grandma?”
“We don’t know, Matty. All we know is that they said they would be back.”
“How do we know that?”
“Because the beekeepers spoke to the priests and told them what the last queen said before she went. She said that when we had meadows again, they would be back.”
“What’s a meadow?”
“It’s a special grass that we can’t grow yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because the ground isn’t clean enough.”
“Is that why the cloud machines make the yellow rain?”
“Very good, Matty. They do that to clean the dirt away.”
“Where did the dirt come from?”
“The government people made the dirt and killed the flowers.”
“That’s when the corps saved us, wasn’t it?”
“Oh you have been paying attention at school, haven’t you? Yes. The bees leaving forced the corporations to step in to help us. They made the Cees that helped the flowers come back.”
“But Cees can’t make honey?”
“That’s right. They are tiny drones.”
“When I grow up, I want to be a drone pilot. I’ll help bring the meadows back.”
“You study hard and I’m sure you will, Matty.”
“Can I have some more honey, grandma? “
“Yes, Matty. But only a little. There won’t be any more.”
“Ever? “
“Maybe one day, dear. Maybe one day.”
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