The Cost of Coffee, part 20
the end
Prompts for 25 July 2025 from
Write about a dormant volcano
effortlessly strenuous
“which way should we go?”
A character who is on a pilgrimage
Y’all, I cannot believe this is complete. 20 weeks of prompts as a micro-serial that will next become a novella. Wow. Need to start at the beginning? Click here.
20.
Pinta looked at the tablet in her hands. She had pulled up her school report about coffee in the Bio and brought it to Council Chambers, per Father’s request. Naimeh read over her shoulder as she reviewed Pinta’s work connecting the rising cost of coffee on Earth to governmental manipulation of prices that ultimately led to the wars that left most people impoverished in the Coffee Belt around Earth’s equator.
“Did you quote Mother here?” Naimeh pointed to a reference about a trial of participatory economics in a tiny Central American coffee-growing country that inspired the economic system of the Bio.
“I did! Mother has several articles published about the promise of a participatory economy. I think most of them came from her dissertation back in the day. I’m glad they were all saved to digital libraries.” Pinta touched her mother’s name, and a half-dozen articles populated the screen.
“I knew Mother published, but had no idea she was so prolific!” Naimeh looked impressed.
Skimming through the article titles, Pinta agreed. “Reading these makes me think writing for her is effortlessly strenuous. That must be where you get your love for words.”
“Maybe. Father did ask me to keep writing about these last months. I’m not sure what he expects since it’s really just me processing all of the chaos.”
Just then, five Council members took their seats at the front of the chamber. Four chairs remained conspicuously empty. Pinta and Naimeh looked at each other, but before either could speak, the Council Chair called the meeting to order.
“Thank you all for appearing at such short notice. There are three items to discuss for today’s impromptu meeting: a presentation by our lead horticulturalist, a reconciliation of glitches in the Bio AI, and the introduction of a new council member. We will begin with our expert in all things that grow here in the Bio.”
Father stepped in from a side door, balancing five cups of steaming coffee on a tray. He set one in front of each Council member.
“I’m sorry I don’t have one for each of you,” he began, as the room quickly filled. Evidently, word of this unscheduled meeting was out. The cameras were blinking, so Pinta was certain it was also streaming on every monitor in the Bio. She could smell the coffee from her front row seat.
Naimeh leaned over and whispered, “I’ll bet that’s a Kenyan bean, roasted to medium-dark. I can smell the fruit and florals from here.”
Pinta nodded in agreement. “I wonder why Father chose a single bean—and the Kenyan? It can be pretty acidic unless it’s blended with something else.” Naimeh shrugged one shoulder and held up her hands in a symbol of not knowing.
Father turned back to the Council members.
“Please, my friends,” he began. “Smell the coffee in front of you. Breathe in the aroma and try to identify what might set this cup apart from another. Taste and let the vibrant smoothness run over your tongues and warm the backs of your throats. Feel your body relax with the heat while your minds become more alert. Let me take you on a journey, a kind of pilgrimage through the beverage you hold in your hands.
“Long ago, when the Earth was young, land masses formed in several ways: shifting plates moved by tectonic forces, drifting across oceans until colliding with other lands, and volcanoes. All three forms of continent-building involved violence governed by the law of inertia: objects in motion stay in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force. In the case of shifting plates, one slides under the other. Collisions created mountains and valleys. Only one force, however, required fire.
“Volcanoes erupted often in those millennia, shooting hot lava into the air, along with steam and smoke. Lava dripped down from the gaping openings, adding layer upon layer of molten rock and ash. Eventually, the activity of the inner core of the volcanoes slowed, and the volcanoes went dormant, releasing steam and little plumes of smoke. Some volcanoes eventually cooled completely and became extinct.
“From those fiery beginnings, the land around the volcanoes turned to rich soil. Along with a temperate climate and high altitude, the area around one mountain in Africa became known for its signature beans.”
Pinta and Naimeh grinned at each other. They knew. Pinta was surprised that no one seemed impatient with Father’s lecture. But the crowd seemed to be visualizing the violence of the land’s creation with the life-giving substance they consumed. Father continued.
“What you have, Council Members, is a cup of coffee, made with beans descended from those original Kenyan coffee plants. Born of violence, these beans are a symbol of life that can arise from the ashes of destruction.
“The last months in our Bio home have been challenging, to say the least. We have had fires, despite the official records of the AI system. And we are beginning to see healing in some of the Sectors most damaged. But we know that, unlike volcanic activity, the attempt at destruction here is not a force of nature, but rather the wills of a few people who came to believe that their ways were better than what our charter laid out. Some of those people once sat in those chairs.”
As Father gestured to the empty seats, a sense of tension began to ripple through the audience. People looked at each other, wondering whether they were about to be called out for something they had done. Father smiled.
“I read my daughter’s school report on coffee and economics. It was ambitious, and needs wordsmithing, but she makes several observations that are relevant here. Coffee has been used in commerce for thousands of years. Coffee has incited wars between people who wanted to profit from its many uses. Coffee has ties to legends and folk stories. Coffee served as a symbol of hospitality in many countries and for many religious groups. Whole cultures developed around coffee. Coffee is an invitation to sit and develop relationships that are far more important than the beverage. I’ve asked Pinta to bring the report today.”
Pinta blanched. She did not want to offer an oral report of her research. It was just a school project. She breathed a sigh of relief when Father continued,
“I won’t ask her to read it now, but she has the foundation for something beyond just the cost of coffee. There is symbolism in coffee in the Bio that she does not yet have in her report. Just as the fissures of volcanoes allowed the lava to flow, creating the soil required for cultivation, so the cracks in the reality of our lives here must be considered and cultivated.
“The fires that roared through revealed a weakness in our structure. My dear wife can explain in detail another time, but the essential thing we must all understand is that no one is immune from evil intent. No one is above self-centeredness, greed, and a desire for power. We all carry a seed of self-will. If we let it grow, it will destroy what we have here. Collaboration and cooperation are worthy goals, but the nature of humans that led to the destruction of Earth is still within us.
“The question for us today is, ‘Which way should we go?’ Will we continue to pretend that we have no need of some way to ensure that each of our actions work toward cultivating relationships that create community for all? How do we begin to regain trust in our ways of participating in the kind of economy we believe in? I believe we are at a crossroads. Until now, we have believed that what we have here is enough. If we remember how we arrived here, what this Bio means for not just us, but in honor of our long histories, we can continue to thrive.”
The Council Chair began the applause. In seconds, the room was clapping. The tension melted into relief when the people understood that Father’s story was also their story—a shared history that could unite them, if they worked to remember the past and cultivate the present to ensure a rich and vibrant future.
Pinta hugged Father, hard. Naimeh looked over his shoulder, asking, “Where is Mother?”
Father touched her head in a gesture he hadn’t used in years. “Just wait, my sweet girl. You shall see.”
The Council moved quickly to the next item of business. Having determined that a single system was too easy to hack, they would add historians and scribes to back up the AI’s work.
Father looked at Naimeh when they made the announcement. “It looks like you can leave the Fabric Sector and use your writing gifts for the community.”
Naimeh smiled so broadly that Pinta thought her face might split.
“First, however, you need to help Pinta with her report. I think the collaboration between the two of you will produce a document that will lead the way forward.”
Pinta started to respond, but the Council Chair spoke again.
“Having completed the first two tasks, we will conclude by introducing a new member to our Council. Bringing both wisdom and experience with what can happen when we let our guard down, we are confident that this member will breathe new life into the workings of our community.”
The curtain to the left of the Council parted, and everyone looked to see who would emerge.
It was Mother.
Wow! You did it. And Mom not only survived, but prospered. This was famtastic! I'm looking forward to next week to see what you come up with as an encore! 😎