Sashi took one look at this story and freaked out! Science has never been one of her strongest subjects, so Alethea dropped it in my in-tray; and it's a doozie!
Delta Zenia II has reached that point in its development where everyday decisions can now have global consequences. It's an inevitable part of 'growing up' where most societies are concerned.
During the early period of a population's development, environmental impacts are limited and easily observed. Fires from slash and burn farming become the norm, as more and more land is required for agriculture. A spark jumps and suddenly an entire forest burns. As cities grow, and people are crowded together, epidemics are more easily spread, their effluent causes disease and pollution. Industry brings with it its own set of challenges. Charcoal burners deforest entire regions. Intensive farming depletes the soil. Fertilizers and mining pollute the water table. Fossil fuels are difficult to extract and transport. Chemical and oil spills are common. Entire eco-systems are compromised. A peoples' way of life disappears. In time, the makeup of the very atmosphere itself can be changed.
At some point, societies have to decide - or not - what price their world must continue to pay so their standard of living can continue to rise. More often than not, at this stage, their bio-sphere has already paid a heavy price: a price which is now threatening their very existence. This is the point where governments, aided and abetted by their 'advisors' and 'lobbyists', who push new technological breakthroughs on already befuddled minds, usually opt for a strategy which, though it promises a short term answer to their problem(s), brings with it a new and unexpected set of consequences. Such was the case with Delta Zenia II!
Nature is no longer a source of mystery and wonder to the people of Delta Zenia II, as it was to their long departed ancestors. To them, nature is to be used, to be manipulated and, in modified forms, which have never before existed on their world, released into that very same world. It's not simply that they are arrogant; it's not simply that a few are besotted with getting even richer; it's not even that their politicians are totally corrupt - though they are; and it's not even that they are desperate, since they are far too distracted by their new toys. No, it's simply the result of their having progressed to the point where nature really has little impact on their lives - for the most part - because technology has insulated them from its effects and limitations.
Taking hard decisions is not something politicians do lightly, especially in an election year. Announcing that the hydrocarbons are running out and pretty soon you'll all be walking will garner few plaudits, and fewer votes. People will NOT give up their little conveniences without a fight. In fact, they will clutch any straw offered by the 'unscrupulous', if it means they can go right on doing what they've grown used to doing. 'If we can't dig up hydrocarbons, why can't we grow them?' they ask. Yes, that's so logical! Far better to grow food and put it in the gas tank than make bread out of it so someone can eat it. [Sound familiar?]
There are several ways to produce ethanol for powering vehicles. The Zenians chose bacteria.
Zymomonas Mobilis is a bacteria which degrades sugars to pyruvate, using the Entner-Doudoroff pathway. The pyruvate is then fermented to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide - which kind of misses the point if you're trying to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels! [Now you know why Sashi freaked out.] Existing strains of bacteria, the ethanologenic bacteria Escherichia Coli strains KO11 and LYO1, and Klebsiella Oxytoca strain P2, were already found to completely biotransform furfural into furfuryl alcohol using Tryptone and Yeast extract as the a carbon source [Formula C5H6O2].
Furfural is found in many plant oils, fruit juices, corn cobs and sugar cane bagasse - the fibrous stem left after processing. Furfuryl alcohol was used on Zenia in the industrial production of certain resins and adhesives, as well as a food additive.
The genetic engineers responsible for testing the pilot ethanol production plant found that while the Zymomonas Mobilis performed as expected, the quantity of ethanol produced did not reach the levels that had been sold to the politicians. They needed an edge, and they found it by spicing the Zymomonas Mobilis genome with a teeny-tiny snippet of Escherichia Coli's genetic code. Ethanol production increased ten-fold. The politicians held photo-ops, luxuriated in the approval of the masses and signed legislation to build one hundred, full scale ethanol plants. Nobody, however, seems to have bothered to read the addendum contained in the report - the one that highlighted the need for extreme care when handling and storing the genetically modified Zymomonas Mobilis.
No one really knows what happened next; or, at least, no one is prepared to admit they do!
When the Zymomonas Mobilis bacteria had spent several days in the vats, they were replaced with a fresh batch. The exhausted bacteria were then taken to holding tanks, before being sent to a waste treatment plant for their next task, treating sewage and turning into a highly nutritious animal food stock. The addendum no one had bothered to fully absorb pointed out that the modified Zymomonas Mobilis had been found to produce quantities of Benzyl Alcohol when deprived of their rich sugar source. Benzyl Alcohol is a solvent used in removing Epoxy Resins from objects, like circuit boards and suchlike.
How it got into the eco-system from the holding tanks is not known but, it did. My guess is the animals it was eventually fed to deposited it on the ground every time they defecated. Over time, it appears to have mutated and bred in huge numbers anywhere it had access to plant sugars - like in an animal's stomach. Some explosive combination, ethanol and methane! In time, Zymomonas Mobilis coated pretty well every surface, including the houses the Zenian lived in, which were constructed from epoxy resin and fiber matting, laid down in molds on site, then extracted and placed in the desired location. They were available in many colors and designs, were weather resistant, had good heat retention properties and were long lasting. In the interests of increased fuel mileage, most of the new vehicles appearing on Zenia's road network were also made of this material.
One day it started raining. It rained for a week!
The Benzyl Alcohol, which the Zymomonas Mobilis had continued to produce in the absence of a sugar source, was now in a liquid suspension. It soon began to dissolve every resin surface on which it had lain undetected. It literally melted houses, then vehicle bodies and, finally, Government House, itself.
All the houses on Delta Zenia II are now constructed of permacrete. That'll hold them until the next good idea comes along.
