HYDROPONICS chapter 7

HYDROPONICS chapter 7

I am Carl Sandor, leader of the group from Earth. We are visiting Tiberias Cylinder, a city in space, home to half-a-million people. Rod is a church-elder in one of the Churches of Christ in Tiberias, who is showing us around. We have come here to experience and to learn about life as it is lived out here in space.

We had enjoyed a delicious meal at the cafeteria. Rod then mentioned that the food was grown right here on Tiberias from "yeast and whatever else they use." What was "whatever else???" We wanted to know. At least, we thought we did. Now we were not so sure.

"Rod, you said all this variety we see in the cafeteria is raised in hydroponics."

"That's right. Tiberias is a closed ecology. When you think about it, can you really throw anything away? Besides, on earth everything is eventually recycled. Animal waste is carefully composted by the farmer and put back into the soil. Waste extraction makes perfect sense. We call the whole process 'hydroponics.'"

"Gross!" said Edna. "Double gross! Waste extraction! What about germs!"

"Edna, think about it. You know there's good bacteria as well as bad bacteria. In composting, the good bacteria destroys the bad in the whole process. God set it up that way. We drink the same water and breath the same air that's been around forever. It's part of nature. We couldn't live otherwise."

"It still grosses me out!" said Edna. "I don't know if I will ever be able to eat here again! Waste extraction!"

"Tell you what," said Rod, "let's go take a look at things. You'll learn a lot about nature and about yourself by taking a good look at the hydroponics farms and what goes on there."

Rod hailed a floater and we started toward the outer rings.

We soon arrived at a huge portal closed by huge doors.

"Now you remember," Rod said, "that Tiberias is a 'canister city.' It is a canister, a metal can, large enough to enclose a city of half-a-million people. It is air tight, and the only air lost is a tiny amount when ships dock. Since it is impossible to grow air and water, these have to be brought in from Earth. Tiberias spins on its axis to create a sense of gravity, and that gravity is highest out here at the outer ring. That is why waste extraction and hydroponics have been located in this outer ring."

Rod led us through a small door at the side of the portal, into a gigantic room that seemed to go on and on into the distance. The lights were blinding. A wave of very hot steamy air hit us, along with an overpowering odor. From my childhood on the farm, I knew it as "barn-yardy." It was of course the aroma of yeast and fermentation and growing things.

"That smell," I said to Rod. "It reminds me of the farm back home."

"Certainly so," said Rod. "This is a farm here. It's just that some things about it are different. But food has to be grown. This is nature in action."

"I don't like it," said Edna. "Why couldn't we eat chemicals or something, or plastic? Why does the food have to come from such smelly sources?"

"Edna, you must take nature as it is. On Earth everyone lives in cities, and they are cut off from what really goes on to produce the food supplies. You never knew what you were eating or where it came from. But it certainly did come from natural growing things. I'll call Hans, our head farmer. He'll show us around and tell us how things work out here."

Rod touched a keypad.

Somewhere I could hear a door open and close. In the distance I could see a man coming toward us. As he got closer, I could see he appeared to be dressed all in black in an antique style.

By now the man had reached us. He had on heavy shoes, black denim trousers, which were held up by suspenders, and a black denim shirt. He had a bushy beard of reddish color, and was wearing an old style earth straw hat.

"Rod," I gasped, "what is this? He looks just like an Amishman back home in northern Usono."

"This is Hans Yoder," Rod said. "Hans, this is a group from Earth, visiting our Churches of Christ here on Tiberias."

Rod proceeded to introduce us all around.

"But I don't understand," said Fred. "I thought the Amish were tied to farmland and seventeenth century ways. What is an Amishman doing out here in space on Tiberias Cylinder?"

"Hans is as you say, an Amishman," Rod said. "He and all his commune are our food experts. They are geniuses when it comes to growing things. None of your great earth chefs can give yeast protein the exquisite tastes to equal what they can do."

"But, an Amishman, out here in space?" I said.

"Hans, tell him," Rod said.

"Well, we got to make a living. It's as simple as that. Back on Earth there was never enough farm land to go around. It costs money to feed and raise a family. Some of us had to work at other things, even in the 1900's. My great-grandfather worked in a furniture factory. My father looked out into space. No machine can do what a human can do. It was an easy step to go from working with our hands on the land to working with our hands out here in space. We Amish can work together in close cooperation. Not everyone can do that. We are a community. We understand each other."

"But you can't have horses out here?" asked Edna. "You don't have horses, do you?"

"No horses. Too expensive. But, being Amish is a way of life. We had to think that out in my grandfather's time. We love horses. But we don't need them. Horses are tools to use. We have other tools. But family is family. We stick together and work together. We are giving the gift of life to the people of Tiberias. We grow things, produce food, just like the old farms, even though conditions and things are very different out here in space. We Amish are a community and we work for the good of our community."

"But it certainly seems strange," I said. "Doesn't this conflict with everything the Amish stood for in the past? At least, what I thought they stood for."

"You got to look at it the right way. We were never against using tools. But we were against allowing tools to use us. Our fathers made the choice to be plain people. We worked wonderfully hard, but it was a celebration of life. We are a church-community, a commune if you will, who practice austere living and a family-oriented economic system. We just have different conclusions about how to live life and enjoy it."

"Hans, you surely make it sound good about plain people and hard work and celebration," said Molly. "But I don't know about your celebration of life. I read about my great-grandfather on a hillside farm in West Virginia. He called it 'hard scrabble farming,' not any celebration. He wrote that he had to work from 'it ain't light yet' to 'I can't see anymore' just to starve on the farm. It seemed to be more desperation than celebration."

"Circumstances alters cases," Hans said. "Some talked like your great-grandfather. But, 'many hands make light work' as the old saying goes, and we Amish work together. That made it easier to get along. Let me show you around. That is the best answer I can give - to show you how things work here on Tiberias."

Hans touched a keypad and a small floater came out from between two huge tanks.

"Let's go see the farm," he said.

We climbed aboard. Hans sat at the controls.

"As you know, Tiberias spins to give it gravity. We make use of this gravity to get the liquids out here to process. Tiberias Cylinder is a canister city, sealed in metal from the airlessness of space. Space is cold, but the sun is always shining on some part of Tiberias as it rotates, and the outer shell is warm. Hydroponics is the outer ring of Tiberias. We need heat for the growing process. You notice how warm it is here. The artificial light mimics the sun, but doesn't have the destructive elements that unfiltered sunlight would have. There are thousands of acres of growing things in this outer ring."

The floater began moving forward slowly. Hans pointed things out to us as we moved along.

"That row of tanks hold effluent. Over there is a reverse osmosis filtering unit. It separates pure sterile water from the effluent. The sludge left behind goes into that composter."

The floater stopped at huge doors. A fierce current of air blew into our faces as they opened, bearing the smell of vegetation. We could see a tangled forest of gigantic green and yellow vines. They reminded me of giant Morning Glories gone wild, with leaves the size of garbage-can lids, and enormous purple and blue flowers. The strong currents of air were whipping the leaves and flowers up and down.

"We call these our 'Air Plants,'" said Hans. "We developed these vines from some weeds back on Earth. They were practically indestructible."

The floater moved forward into a tunnel cut through the tangled green mass.

"Tiberias is a 'biosphere,' and the Air Plants help make life possible. You feel the strong currents of air blowing through here. These vines do an amazing job of recycling and purifying the air. Parts of them can be used for food. And they grow fast, very fast. We must work to keep them cut back."

The floater took us some distance to get through the forest of Air Plants. We came to another doorway, which opened into an area of more tanks, and vats (long tables with raised edges to hold the liquids) in which we could see growing things. Some were gray lumpy looking things, and some seemed to be green leafy things. We could also recognize garden vegetables such as grew back home.

Hans went on talking about filters and processing and all the things they were able to grow here. He showed us more of the huge vats and tanks. We were impressed by the size and complexity of things. But it didn't mean much to us. We didn't really understand.

"Hans, can you make it simple for us. We don't understand," I said.

"Waste extraction," he said, "means to purify and recycle all the water and liquids. Water from a spring on Earth wouldn't be as pure as we make this. The solids are composted. Most are used to grow yeast protein along with carbohydrates and fats. Some we use to grow plants - all the fresh vegetables you eat in the cafeterias. We also cultivate certain insects from Earth, such as termites. They are very efficient in converting compost into useful protein. You've eaten termite protein cake in the cafeteria. It's all really the same thing that goes on back on Earth. It is nature in action. We couldn't live without it."

"Gross!" said Edna. "That's really gross! And to think I ate that!"

"Edna, just listen," said Rod. "Wait until you see everything. Then you can put it all together."

Hans just shook his head.

"But you do all this by hand?" I asked.

"We do as much by hand as seems reasonable. But we must use tools - machines - to make it possible to produce what we need. Tiberias must have huge quantities of food each day. It would be impossible to do very much by hand. We use robot harvesters and smart machines. And we call on the 'English' technicians and specialists when we need them. I should explain that our ancestors called everyone who wasn't Amish, the 'English.'"

"But on Earth, no one knows about what goes on to produce food," said Edna.

"Who knows it here?" said Hans. "No one comes out here to watch. And we are 'waste extraction.' We are isolated from life on Tiberias."

"I hadn't thought about that," I said. "You are isolated? Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not at all. We don't need other people. We have our community. We have each other. We are family. It is not all that different from what our ancestors experienced on Earth. We have made the choice to be separated people."

"You say 'isolated,'" Fred said. "Does that mean you are shunned because you are 'waste extraction'?"

"Sometimes that is true," said Hans. "But few are even aware that we are here. Rod, of course, knows us well. He is our friend."

"Hans, I hear you talking 'community'," said Molly, "but back on Earth you Amish sometimes had conflict within the group and certain people were shunned because of this. Not everyone would pay the price to be Amish."

"Yes. But you have conflict within the 'English' also. It isn't all that different. Some individual rights must be sacrificed for the good of the community. But this choice is voluntary. Those who will not conform must go elsewhere. It is vital that we work together and we must preserve the community. It cannot be otherwise. It is a choice we make."

"I suppose that's really the basis of civilization," I said. "Either cooperate, or be a hermit."

"You got it," said Hans, "cooperate. But let's go meet the families."

Hans stopped the floater at another portal. We stepped off, then followed him through a small door into the next ring.

"Our families live here," he said. "It is more pleasant and we are shielded from the noise and smells of the farms."

As we looked ahead down the street, we could see the standard pattern we had seen everywhere on Tiberias. Cubicles, only these seemed larger.

He led us to a door, touched the keypad, and led us into a huge room.

As we entered, we could see wall-screens which were showing rural scenes of mountains and trees and running streams of water."

"Sit down," he said, "and make yourself comfortable."

Then he beckoned toward the rear of the room. A woman and three small children came to meet us.

"This is Gerta, my wife, and these are Herman, Carol, and Frederick. Children are a treasure to the Amish, and we tend to large families. There are a few hundred of us here on Tiberias."

"Kayor, Gerta!" Rod said. He hugged Gerta and each of the children.

Then he introduced us all around.

"I act as a contact for the Amish," Rod said. "They are very special people."

"I'm puzzled," said Molly. "How is it that you have wall-screens and TV images? Isn't that against your 'plain' creed?"

"Tools, remember," said Hans. "You may call it rationalizing. We want to keep our link with the past. We want our children to feel close to nature as our ancestors knew it."

He touched a keypad. The wall-screens changed to show a harvest scene: horses, shocks of wheat in the old fashioned style, Amish people dressed in their distinctive clothing, working in the fields to harvest the crops, children laughing and playing and helping in their own way.

Then they changed to show a dinner scene in a large house. Many people sat at long tables and were helping themselves from the huge dishes of food. They seemed to be happy and laughing and enjoying this good time of fellowship.

They changed to show a winter scene. Snow was drifted deeply around a large house. A horse was pulling a sleigh with happy people in it. Cows were in the field, huddled together. A man was throwing hay over the fence to them.

They changed to show springtime, with women and children working in the garden, with bare feet, skirts pulled up slightly, pants legs rolled up to the knees, raking, planting seeds.

"Do you watch the TV and news programs?" asked Molly.

"Never! We have historical videos of Amish farming and people. We receive videos from our people on Earth. And from those on other Cylinders out in space. Our people will hire someone to use a video cam to make the videos for them. These videos help preserve our sense of community and our heritage, and they keep us in touch with the extended Amish community. But TV programs and the news - never! We value our isolation too much!"

"You say 'isolation' and 'sense of community.' I said. "How do you balance these two things?"

"We want to stand separate and apart from the 'English,' as our forefathers tried to do. But, we want to have intense 'community' between each of us. In fact, some of our leaders have considered a radio link between each of us Amish to allow continuous contact."

"A radio link? How would you fit that into your beliefs?"

"A tool, once again. We have heard of a radio microchip which can be implanted under the skin and spliced into nerve fibers. This would allow us to join our minds together in a way never before possible. Our Bishops on Earth would need to confer about that and approve such a radical step. But think of the possibilities! What would be the IQ of a group mind? What new concepts might open up? What new possibilities in growing things? What new biology? It boggles our minds!"

"It scares me," said Molly.

"Hans, tell us about your Church," said Rod.

"Well, we Amish trace back to the Anabaptist Movement in ancient history. You 'English' probably never heard of this. Our Church is a communal life which we live according to Christ's teaching in the New Testament portion of the Bible. He spoke of brotherly love and love of enemies; mutual service to each other; nonviolence and the refusal to bear arms. Purity and faithfulness in marriage, and children as treasure to be cherished. Each one of us gives his or her talents, time, and efforts to the good of the whole group."

"I know just what you are saying," I said. "Back on Earth I am a Historian who specializes in the Anabaptist Movement. In fact, the Churches of Christ have a lot in common with your group."

Rod spoke up. "Carl Sandor is a well known name in the study of History. He has written books, and translated some of the ancient German language documents. Carl, tell us why you think the Churches of Christ could be considered 'Anabaptist.'"

"Well, if you adjust for the difference in language, both are saying essentially the same thing. There is the minimalist approach to life and material things. Both 'lay up treasures in heaven,' so to speak. Great emphasis is placed on truth and purity."

"But you 'English' don't have the sense of community which we Amish do."

"When we are at our best we do. We often fall short, as you point out. Perhaps you have the same problem among your people also."

"That's true. We put a lot of effort into Bible study and close relationships. We are conscious of our shortcomings and failings. But we are certain that we can live as Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Love and freedom and truth - not only on Sundays but from day to day."

"Again you are saying the same things which we say in the Churches of Christ. We offer our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing, a sensible way to serve God."