The Wheat Code

The Wheat Code

Brian Freschi
Anna Ferrari

LEO: THE EARTH IS LIKE THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF A LARGER BODY. A BODY THAT EMERGES.
LEO: LIKE WHEAT.

LEO: EACH YEAR IS ITS OWN BEAT.

LEO : EVERY YEAR IT DIES AND IS REBORN, A NEW WISDOM GAINED.

LEO: THE EARTH ALWAYS REMEMBERS HOW TO GROW.

LEO: THE EARTH ALWAYS REMEMBERS HOW TO MAKE OTHERS GROW.

**ELISE (OFF SCREEN):** YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THAT MICROBES ARE CRAZY BOSSES!
**ELISE (OFF SCREEN):** IF PLANTS ARE STRESSED BY THE CLIMATE, THEY HELP THEM GROW!
**ELISE:** STUDIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN DONE YEARS AGO! INCREASE IN MICROBIAL FUNCTIONALITY AND SOIL ORGANIC CARBON!
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-gradcatch/
**ELISE:** AND I CAN GO ON FOR HOURS IF YOU WANT.
**ESPERANZA:** WHO’S THAT CHATTY WOMAN OVER THERE, AUGUSTE?!
**AUGUSTE:** ELISE? SHE’S BEEN HERE A COUPLE DAYS!
**AUGUSTE (OFF-SCREEN):** SHE SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN THIS DROUGHT TO HEART
**OLD OLIVIER:** BAH! NO KIDDING!
**ELISE:** DON’T POUT, OLD OLIVIER! TRUST ME…
**ELISE:** …THE MICROBES HOLD THE KEY, BRO!
**ESPERANZA:** AND DO YOU THINK A FEW LITTLE FORMULAS ARE REALLY ENOUGH TO FIND A SOLUTION?
**AUGUSTE:** I DON’T KNOW ESPI… SHE’S SOME KIND OF SCIENTIST AND PART OF HER FAMILY HAS LIVED HERE FOR GENERATIONS.
MAYBE SHE KNOWS SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

LEO (OFF-SCREEN): YOU ARE SO KIND TO ALLOW ME TO REST IN YOUR FIELD.
ESPERANZA: I FEEL LIKE I HAVE MET YOU ALREADY.
ESPERANZA: I KNOW EVERY INCH OF THIS COUNTRY… BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER WHERE I SAW YOU.
LEO: IT’S LIKE PART OF YOUR FAMILY… THIS COUNTRY? THIS FIELD?
ESPERANZA (TIED): THIS IS ALL I HAVE LEFT.
LEO: YOU’VE BEEN ALONE FOR A LONG TIME, YOU SHOULD BREAK OUT OF THIS BUBBLE A LITTLE…
LEO: YOUR EARTH SUFFERS AND YOU WITH IT. BUT EVEN IF YOU NO LONGER HAVE A FAMILY, DON’T THINK YOU ARE ALONE.
LEO: THE VOICES OF OTHERS. OF STRANGERS. CAN BE THE MOST POWERFUL FERTILIZER.
LEO: IF THE LAND WHISPERS OF DECLINE…

LEO: Maybe they can bring her back to life.

ESPERANZA: AH! IT WAS LEO!

ESPERANZA: HI AUGUSTE, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU.
ME? I’M ALL GOOD, THANK YOU.
ESPERANZA: LISTEN TO ME… THAT WOMAN, ELISE. DO YOU KNOW HOW I CAN CONTACT HER?
I NEED TO TALK TO HER.

**ELISE:** AS I SAID…

**ELISE:** SOIL MICROBES!
**ELISE:** HERE’S THE KEY!!!

**ELISE:** FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO RUN MY EXPERIMENTS ON YOUR SMALL PLOT!
OH! AND SMALL DOESN’T MEAN INSIGNIFICANT! WE NEED TO START BY SOLVING THE SMALL SO AS TO AVOID COLOSSAL WORLD CHAOS!
**ELISE:** CHAOS LIKE WITH THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY!
IT’S COOL!
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-epicc/

ESPERANZA: SMALL AS MICROBES? HOW CAN SOMETHING SO SMALL CHANGE SUCH A VAST LANDSCAPE?
ELISE: MY FRIEND, THERE IS A VAST ARRAY OF SCIENCE AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE WE ARE NOT USING!
BUT WE NEED THE HELP OF FARMERS LIKE YOU TO TEST THE SOLUTIONS!
ESPERANZA (TIED): WE NEED… WHO? YOU’RE NOT ALONE?
CAPTION: HENRIK LARSEN, STUDIES BARLEY FIELDS INVADED BY INVASIVE WEEDS, WARNING OF THE DANGERS OF EVOLVING ECOSYSTEMS!
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-rangex/
ELISE: OF COURSE NOT! THERE’S MY DREAM TEAM!
AND I ALREADY HAVE A NAME FOR THE PROJECT… THE WHEAT CODE!!!
CAPTION: AND THEN THERE’S PRIYA TANG, WHO LOOKS FOR TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE WHEAT MORE RESILIENT TO MODERN CLIMATE EXTREMES!
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-plantcline/
ELISE (OFF-SCREEN): THERE IS HOPE, ESPI!
ELISE (OFF-SCREEN): BUT CLIMATE CHANGE IS A VERY POWERFUL BOSS, SO WE NEED TO TRY NEW IDEAS!

ESPERANZA: WHY DID YOU COME BACK?
CLARA: I’M NOT BACK. I HAVE TO ATTEND AN EVENT ON AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN ROUEN… I THOUGHT I’D SAY HELLO.
ESPERANZA (OFF-SCREEN): SO, NOW I’M TALKING TO AGRICORP, NOT MY SISTER.

ESPERANZA: DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW I’M DOING OR DO YOU JUST WANT TO ASK ME TO SELL EVERYTHING AGAIN?
THIS FIELD WOULD BE A PERFECT TOY FOR YOU.
CLARA: WHO ARE THOSE PEOPLE COLLECTING SAMPLES ON OUR FIELD?
ESPERANZA (OFF-SCREEN): OUR FIELD?!
ESPERANZA: OK, ESPI, OK. BREATHE.

ESPERANZA: THEY ARE SCIENTISTS. MAYBE YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED… BUT THE FIELD IS SUFFERING. THERE’S A DROUGHT THAT SUCKS.
I’M LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION.
CLARA: AND YOU DIDN’T THINK OF ASKING ME FOR AN OPINION? IT’S NOT JUST YOUR HOUSE.
ESPERANZA: YOU SPOILED LITTLE GIRL! YOU FIRST WANTED TO SELL IT AFTER MOM DIED… AND THEN TURN IT INTO A MONSTER OF YOUR COMPANY!
YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS HERE!
CLARA: I’M NOT BLIND. I SEE THE DISASTER THAT IS THERE.
MONOCULTURE IS THE FUTURE. AND YOU ARE NAIVE TO THINK THAT CERTAIN TRICKS CAN SAVE MOM’S FIELD.
ESPERANZA: THE TRADITIONS OF OUR FAMILY AND OUR MOTHER… ARE THE ONES THAT INTEREST ME!
CLARA (IN A LOW VOICE): OUR MOTHER DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING…
ESPERANZA (OFF-SCREEN): WHAT?!
CLARA: OUR MOTHER DIDN’T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING.
ESPERANZA: YOU THINK YOU’RE FEEDING THE WORLD, SISTER, BUT YOU’RE NOT.
CAPTION (ESPERANZA): YOU’RE DRAINING IT.

ESPERANZA (OFF-SCREEN): WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

CLARA (FROM MOBILE PHONE): THE SAME THING YOU DID BY CALLING THOSE OTHER SCIENTISTS.
ESPERANZA: THIS FIELD IS NOT AGRICORP’S! I WANT THEM OUT OF HERE NOW!
CLARA (FROM MOBILE PHONE): MELODRAMATIC AS ALWAYS. THEY ARE JUST COLLECTING SOME SAMPLES.

CLARA: BUT I ALREADY KNOW WHAT THEY WILL SAY. THAT THESE ARE RISKY EXPERIMENTS.
CLARA (FROM MOBILE PHONE): … AND THAT THE FIELDS WON’T PRODUCE ENOUGH FOOD WITH THIS HEAT AND WITHOUT OUR VARIETIES.
ESPERANZA: YOU LEFT THIS FARM TO BUILD AGRICORP BUT FORGOT WHERE YOU CAME FROM!
PHONE (SOUND): TUUUU TUUUU
ESPERANZA: AAAAAAAAAAGH!

AUGUSTE (OFF-SCREEN): SO MUCH STRENGTH, MY DEAR!
SAVE SOME FOR FIELD WORK!
ESPERANZA: AUGUSTE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AROUND THESE PARTS?
AUGUSTE: OH, CURIOSITY. I WANT TO SEE THIS MIRACLE UP CLOSE.

ELISE: IT’S NOT A MIRACLE! IT’S SCIENCE!

AUGUSTE: SO, YOU FIGHT THE SUN WITH… MICROBES?
ELISE: COOL, RIGHT?!
AUGUSTE: HOW DO YOU DO IT?
ELISE: INNOVATIVE GENETICS, MICROBIAL SCIENCE AND ECOLOGICAL DESIGN!
ELISE: SURELY NOT THANKS TO THEM!
REPRESENTATIVE: ?

**CAPTION ELISE:** WHILE I MAKE MICROBES POWERFUL AND RESTORE DEGRADED SOIL BY ENRICHING THE MICROBIOME…
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-microservices/
**CAPTION ELISE:** … PRIYA BREEDS SUPER-ADAPTABLE WHEAT HYBRIDS!
**CAPTION ELISE:** AND TO DO SO, SHE COLLECTS AND STUDIES ANCIENT CEREALS!
**CAPTION ELISE:** OUR HENRIK ENSURES THAT BIODIVERSITY THRIVES ALONG WITH THE CROPS!
**CAPTION ELISE:** HOW? WITH NATIVE VEGETATION NEXT TO WHEAT TO DEFEAT PARASITES! GO VEGETATION, GO!
**ELISE:** AND EVERYTHING IS TO CREATE A RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE SYSTEM!
**AUGUSTE:** I WILL TRY TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH THE OTHER FARMERS. LET’S SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF IT.
**ESPERANZA:** THANK YOU. THIS IS IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN VIEW OF THE NEXT DROUGHT.
WE MUST TRY…
**ESPERANZA (OFF-SCREEN):** TOGETHER.

CAPTION (LEO): TOGETHER.

CLARA: I…
I WANTED TO SAVE HER… OUR MOTHER. HER FIELD.
AND I THOUGHT THE ONLY WAY WAS TO MAKE THINGS… BIGGER.

CLARA: I WANTED TO SAVE HER VOICE…

CLARA: OUR CHILDHOOD…
OUR…

CAPTION (LEO): WE CAN SCALE EVERY HEALTHY SOIL IF WE ARE WILLING TO CHANGE.

CAPTION (LEO): WITH THE SUCCESS OF THE WHEAT CODE, THE VILLAGE IS THRIVING AFTER MANY YEARS.
CAPTION (LEO): ESPERANZA AND ELISE ORGANIZE A FESTIVAL. FARMERS, POLICYMAKERS, AND CURIOUS PEOPLE UNITE TO UNDERSTAND THE SECRET OF THE CODE.

CAPTION (LEO): IN THIS NEW WAVE OF CHANGE, PRIYA SHOWS HER HYBRID CEREALS…
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-naperdiv/
CAPTION (LEO): … AND HENRIK INTRODUCES EVERYONE TO THE MAPS WITH THE NEW BIODIVERSITY CORRIDORS.
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-biofair/
CAPTION (LEO): A WAVE THAT MOVES IDEAS.
CAPTION (LEO): A WAVE THAT COLLECTS THE THOUGHTS OF THE WORLD.
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-funpotential/
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-restore/
https://nbscomics.com/wheat-sustain-cocoa/

CAPTION (LEO): A BIG WAVE, WHICH IS BORN FROM THE SMALLEST THING THAT EXISTS.