Chapter 29

If Boyd had thought Milii was pretty, he was astounded by Vellon.

Vellon spread across a peninsula. The main wharves, warehouses and industrial sector were on the western shore and a little away from the main part of town. That shore also had good access to the deep-water channel between Ino and Tye Island.

The white beaches were on the southern shore. Most of the elite also had their mansions and home compounds along the southern shore because it gave the best views. They stretched out for many kilometres and even had a good road on the hillside behind that fed them.

The small city climbed up into the low mountains. They had sculptured the lower levels of the hillsides to form terraced plots. The terraces were planted with all manner of crops and grazed by camla and goats.

Antonia said they planted barley, wheat, corn, tea, olives, grapevines and rice. Apparently, rice grew very well on the lower terraces as the rains drained through the mountain to pool in the paddies. They had found the rice on the island growing wild in the swamps they once had.

Once they started terracing the hillsides, they used some of the overburden to fill the swamps enough to turn them into rice paddies. They had also planted orchards of the same fruits that Tye grew and a couple of local varieties.

“We do have one problem tree here,” she told him as they made their way to the warehouse on the wharf that housed the container. They were using her carriage so she could show Boyd around.

“Oh, why is it a problem?” Boyd asked.

“Well, when we first came here, they grew all over the hillsides. At first, we thought they were some kind of wild cherry tree, but they don’t have one pip. They contain two with their flat sides together.”

“While the flesh tastes good and they are a favourite fruit of some of the local birds, there is not enough flesh on them to justify eating them like other fruits. The birds spit or skat the seeds out all over the place.”

“What happens when you dry the seeds?” Boyd asked.

“Hum, they can get very hard and are a yellowy-red colour unless they get heated, then they go dark brown. They do have a nice smell when roasted. Some of my people find them tasty to chew on. The farmers just find the abundance of saplings in their fields annoying.”

“Can you get me a sample of the fruit and the seeds? I think you may have a new market if they are what I think they are,” Boyd informed her with some excitement.

“Why? What market?” Antonia asked with interest as turning a pest tree into profit was a good solution for her.

“I think they sound like coffee trees. If they are, most of my people like the seeds to be roasted and then ground and then we pour hot water over them and drink the coffee flavoured water like tea. You can also add milk for a different flavour.”

“Now, you do have me interested. If they are what you think, we possibly have five thousand customers already,” Antonia replied and grinned at Boyd.

Boyd looked thoughtful, “One of the women I have interviewed was a botanist who studied fruiting trees. I bet she would love to come here. She would also help you work out how to propagate the trees to maximise their output.”

“Hum, I think I’ll get the Belus family to send in a petition for her. They are good people, and even though already well off, they like to spread the wealth. They are big on supporting their neighbours and collaborating on new projects with them.”

“Sound’s good. I’ll remember the name,” Boyd replied.

They arrived at the wharf, and Boyd found that Antonia had followed Hadi’s example and set up a camp kitchen to feed the people. The warehouse was located near a long pier, and several large sailing ships were tied up.

The team was rather surprised that this lot seemed more alert. They listened carefully and then filled out their questionaries with diligence. They also asked if they could go outside for a few minutes.

Boyd couldn’t see why not, as he knew their new watches wouldn’t let them get far. If anything, he thought the sight of the ships would reinforce the fact that they were not on Earth anymore. Even he had found them impressive.

One of the men exclaimed, “Wow, they weren’t here last time we came out.”

“I beg your pardon?” Boyd queried.

The man smiled, “A middle-aged man who called himself Seamus has been letting us out every couple of days. It is very weird, as it seems he no sooner leaves, and he is letting us out again. Each time he tells us that several days have gone by.”

“He and some of his friends have even fed us some of the local fruit and let us get some exercise. He told us about the bracelets, and after one of the other blokes tried to walk away and got zapped, we knew not to.”

“Seamus told us that as soon as the mages could organise it, we would be sent to a family just like you people have said. We hope it’s soon as this is a beautiful place.”

Boyd wondered who had picked these people to be sent here. So far, they had been the least argumentative of the groups he had interviewed. He already knew most of them had come from Care Facilities in Mackay and Serina. He wondered if the fact that they weren’t people from a big city was what made them more easy-going and accepting.

“If you like, we can probably try to get you all placed here,” he said.

“Thanks, mate, that would be grouse,” the man replied.

Boyd received lots of smiles and thank yous from the others in the group too.

“I’m sorry, but we have to put you back for now,” he said.