April 8: It's Always Something Read Free

orifices which release the nutrients. It's also done at higher than normal pressure, and with additives in the mix which have no function but to increase its oxygen carrying capacity."
    "But doesn't it have a bunch of holes through it then?" April asked, making a repeated gesture with her straight fingers. "I don't see a grid of holes in my steak."
    "The tubes are very thin, Think of an ultrafine hypodermic needle. One of the ways they tenderize natural beef is to stab it repeatedly with fine needles," he said, copying her gesture. "You won't see holes from that process either. But when the culture is mature you slide it off the grid of needles and it appears a solid mass. Electro-stimulation hastens growth and is a factor in giving it the proper grain.
    "Then you sterilize the apparatus and start a new one. It takes about two weeks to grow a quarter kilo filet. My next generation tank will grow three hundred sixty at a time.
    "Just like Gunny had 'trodes on each one, making his fingers grow faster inside the clamshell when they grew him a new hand?" April guessed.
    "Very much so, but I'd avoid bringing that up when marketing the product," Ames suggested.
    "I know, people are squeamish. Don't worry. Even if I invest, I know better than to interfere with things for which I have no talent, like selling," April promised.
    Ames nodded appreciatively. For all of his professionalism he was squeamish, but he'd rather not admit it to April. Ames let her eat. The steak was selling itself better than anything he could say.
    April was chewing, but thoughtfully, looking off in the air trying to visualize something.
    "Why do you have to keep starting and stopping?" she finally asked. "A batch process is always less efficient than a continuous production. Just grow the meat and trim it off. As long as you keep monitoring, and your nutrient bath stays clean and doesn't spoil, it could run a long time."
    "The tissue will degrade once it grows past the ends of the needles," Ames explained. "It needs the oxygen and nutrients continuously. Just like tissue in a cow needs constant circulation."
    "Oh..." April appraised the height of the filet on her plate. "Have the needles six or seven centimeters long. When the steak has grown out near the ends have the needles retract five centimeters and slice it off. Then push them back out to full length."
    Ames looked distressed. "You'd have to anchor the remainder of the culture to the base...or hold it in place with a sort of fork temporarily, while the needles come back out. I can think of several ways to do that, actually. What made you think of that?" he asked, a little irritated.
    April borrowed a phrase from her good friend Barak. "I'm not sure. It just seemed obvious." The look of consternation on Ames face didn't make her enjoy the steak any less at all.
    * * *
    After discussing it with his sister, Kurt wasn't at all sure what to do. She had some practical suggestions about stretching his money out, but they all assumed he'd eventually get some sort of job and have income, even if greatly reduced. There were shortages that had no easy to see reason, and one of them right now was work boots. He'd paid almost two thousand bucks for a pair assuming he'd need them. Now it looked like it might have been wasted money, unless he could resell them. It was always something...
    He brought up moving to another area with an influx of refugees to his sister, and she had a fit about the word, warning him it was just as bad as his sick joke about working for the Devil. The official word was that all these people were not refugees, even saying migrants was starting to be frowned upon as the cop had clued him in on early. What would they call them next? They sure weren't on vacation.
    His sister warned if he said anything about refugees in a new job interview he'd likely end up on another list of disapproved people. Saying refugees, she assured him, labeled you as anti-government. He felt like he couldn't say