Aftermath: an E-mail from Les Safer

Hey, guys!  Ever wonder what ultimately happened to Les in the aftermath of Like a Weed?  Well, this is something that's been bumping around in my noodle… as well as some ideas for a possible sequel.  Hope you like this little morsel, though!

P.S.  It should be obvious, but disregard the e-mail addies… they're fictional!

To:  tetsuko -at- gannon.net
From:  lsafer2002 -at- doctorgreen.org

Subject:  How's your summer been?

Tetsuko,

Hi!  How ya been?  I know it's been a while since I last wrote; sorry about that.  I've been monstrously busy since you and Dr. Gannon visited me at Dr. Green's lab and nursery.  Well, the doctor was able to save what he could from the fire from the big biker brawl. (And don't worry about any trials or testimonies: the three lunkheads that bugged us went ahead and plead guilty. From what I heard, Fatso and Clyde were ready to skip plea bargaining rather than face you again in court, and with that, Lanky decided not to fight.) 

Thankfully, all the data we stored was safe. It would've really stunk if the goons had stolen the computers.  But since most of Dr. Green's plants were torched, he decided to go ahead and focus on his mito-chloroplast culture and my greenwear.  He's looking at his own formulas less as the next step in saving the planet or humanity's next evolutionary step, and approach them as more of an emergency survival measure, with my greenwear as the "cure." 

Oh, and in case he hasn't written, he says he'd like to royally apologize to Dr. Gannon for the dinnertime cheap shots he made on her own serum.  In fact, he'd been giving it some thoughts while sweeping up the mess in the old factory, and he thought of ways someone with its strength might offset or even save the planet:

— Maybe using a platoon serum people to crank a turbine or electric generator by hand.  No pollution from fossil fuels or radioactive waste.

— Serum powered folks could probably use their own leg power to pedal cars and other vehicles as quickly as an IC engine could. (Nosy question:  how fast can you run or pedal on a bike?)

— Using serum people as a way for heavy lifting or machinery (my duh: you'd shown me that unloading the SUV!)

There's definitely more ways we can help protect the ecology with this stuff… still, I'm trying to figure a way to offset the crowded populations that'd result from the longer lifespans.  And how much land for farming it'd take to feed everybody.

Anyway, my internship with Dr. Green's done… and I aced it.  I'm looking forward to working with him again some way in the future.  In the meantime, I may be headed toward your stomping grounds before too long:  there's a convention for rainforest conservation in Florida before the fall term starts up (in Miami or Jacksonville, can't remember which).  Dr. Green will be there, and would like me to attend before I start the fall term in the Amazon rainforest with the with the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.  I'd love to wing my way to Orlando to see you if I can escape.

So how have things been with you?  How was your visit with Dr. Bonn? Got pictures? A web journal anywhere?  A MySpace?  Write back and let me know!

Te adoro,

Les