Biofuel

This was written as a piece for a creative writing course on futurelearn.com

Farmer Brown stood leaning against the weathered wooden gate gazing out at the lush green field and ruminated over the coming season. He shifted the ear of corn from left to right in his mouth and gently nibbled the end, his ruddy cheeks like summer apples. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight; he pulled off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow puffing slightly. The odd cow returned his gaze, but on the whole they appeared to be uninterested in his dilemma. Intensive pig farming didn’t sit well with his conscience, he was rather lucky in that farming had been in his family for four generations, because of this the farm was highly profitable and well maintained – He had some pigs already, but apparently there weren’t enough. The amount of organic material needed far exceeded the amount his meagre pig lot could produce, and modern pork production systems were ethically wrong in his view. If they wanted his help, they would have to do things his way. Cows produced methane, surely they could harness some of that? He had huge herds of cows. He had the land to extend the pig lot too, but it would be on his terms, or not at all. They might not like it, but it was his farm, and they chose this location for a reason – It was quiet and self-sufficient; no prying eyes. This was vitally important. He had never questioned his decision to help them – they had pleaded with him, but without undue pressure – they just wanted to get home. As he gazed at the landscape and though of the peace of mind it afforded him he could appreciate their wish. His mind made up, he straightened up and turned around to look at the work going on in the field behind him. The ship was under cover of a new, and very large barn. He couldn’t quite bring himself to use the term UFO now as it had been present on his land for a number of weeks. The aliens were just putting the finishing touches to shield it from view. He was sure that they would be disappointed to know that they would not be making the journey home in the timeframe they had calculated, but he would help them. They were resourceful – you don’t fly across galaxies without a plan B. Now was the time to put it in place, the B standing for biofuel!