The Miners: A Futuristic Story by “Nombe Watanabe”

Those of you who have been following LOVE for years will remember one of our regular bloggers who went by the pseudonym, “Nombe Watanabe.” We always looked forward to his posts as they were not only factual, civil, and well-reasoned, but also witty. We recently received the following submission from “Nombe.”

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The Location
Tucson Area in the not-too-distant future, in the 82nd year of the Great Drought. The “hot zone” is divided into resource areas for exploitation.

The Cast
Hans, Ping Xi, and Tommy Joe are miners, copper miners to be exact, although from time to time there is a call for other materials. Their common language is Spanglish and they live in an underground dormitory blasted into what was once Kartchner Caverns. Their lives are short and brutish, but the pay is good and they can support what is left of their families in the North.

The Story
The robotic trains come down from the temperate zone in the Canada Resettlement Administrative Area (CRAA), bringing water, food and other supplies. Then the trains are loaded for the return trip with copper wire, and other processed minerals, stripped by the miners from any ruins or standing buildings left in the desert. Why struggle for minerals in the earth, when refined product is parching on the surface?

The miners can only work at night, for it is too hot for human existence during the day. But from the former US/Mexican border to the Nevada wasteland, there is a rich vein of abandoned wealth free for the taking.

Back in the 21st Century, people used to wonder how the various governments could allow such expansive development. As the climate grew warmer and the great water sheds declined, still they built and still people moved to an area not able to support human habitation into the 22nd Century.

When it all collapsed, the climate migrants swarmed northward. North to water, north to food, north for a chance at life. Some made it, most did not.

The Message
You really have to think about development in the desert during a major drought and climate change. Think about the motives of the people who tell you that it will be fine, and that there is plenty of water. Remember, there is plenty of water, until there isn’t.

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Editor’s Note: On the same day that we received this article, LOVE learned that the amount of potable (drinking) water utilized on the Pusch Ridge course during November 2021 was 4,045,000 gallons.