Editor’s Note: The following is a fictional news article set in a speculative world where the mysterious “luck crop” macura has reshaped economics, labor, and migration in the U.S. It is part of an ongoing fictional series by Marc Alexander Valle.
Worker Shot to Death at Luck Farm
Yesterday morning at Pines Peak Luck Farm, an anti-immigrant protester shot and killed a migrant protester during a protest over alleged working conditions.
The victim, Florio Esconte, worked on the luck farm and, along with a few dozen other migrants, protested the allegedly horrible conditions on the worksite. For a better part of the morning, both parties remained on separate sides of the road, with the migrants positioned across from the farm and the counter-protestors on the side of the farm entrance.
Participants on both sides claimed that although there was occasional yelling and cursing at one another, no one initiated violence for hours.
“It was when the kids pulled up [in a truck],” said Jariel Hernandez, a migrant worker. “They threw rocks at us. So some of us threw them back.”
It was then that one rock hit a counter-protestor, triggering a street fight.
“One minute, we were just arguing with teenagers,” Hernandez said. “The next minute, we were all in the street, and it was a brawl. We all got in it, and they all got in it too.”
The confrontation lasted for several minutes until Wes Freeman, a 45-year-old Blairstown resident, pulled out a handgun and shot Mr. Esconte in the stomach. Authorities soon arrived and attempted to revive him. After several minutes of resuscitation efforts, Mr. Esconte died with his 15-year-old son next to him.
“They’re cowards,” said Elliot Echevarria, another migrant worker. “Most of the other protestors ran and got in their cars when they heard the shot. All we want to do is to work and be treated with respect. I don’t get it.”
This is not the first altercation outside of a luck farm nationally. Last month, several dozen anti-migrant protestors pulled up to migrant protestors and began assaulting them with bats and other weapons.
NatDat Statistics reports that over the last two years, there’s been an increase in assaults from both illegal migrants and citizens in the Gaunacan community.
The Rise of the Luck Crop
The controversial luck crop, commonly referred to as macura and resembling mint, is primarily grown in the state of Pennsylvania and has been scientifically proven to bring luck to its consumers after processing. The crop is chopped, boiled, and refined in a nearby refinery. Then, it’s sold as candy bars, beverages, and even bracelets.
Over the last few years, the government has eased restrictions on the processing and selling of macura-based products. This has led to a rise in the macura industry, and with that rise has come a greater need for workers to farm the crop. To fill that demand, both Cura Farms Inc. and BioDove Industrial, the two leading companies in the processing of macura, have hired mostly migrant workers to work the unskilled labor part of the operations. This has led to tensions with locals, who feel that the influx of migrants has not only led to a rise in crime and job scarcity.
“They want us to work under minimum wage,” says Blairstow resident Steven Cooley. “How’s someone supposed to live? These [corporations] are making all this money and getting tax breaks. They said this was supposed to revitalize our area.”
What is Macura?
The luck crop is native to Greenland and other arctic territories and grows near active volcanoes. The ash produced by these volcanoes gives the surrounding soil a sort of “nutrient boost” and makes it easy to till the crop. In 1993, scientists discovered that if genetically modified, the crop could grow quickly and be harvested year-round in places like Pennsylvania.
However, raw macura provides no luck. Unprocessed, it’s commonly used as tea or seasoning.
“The luck comes from the oils,” explained Rhett Barker of The Rhonick Institute of Technology. “You have to process the plant in multiple steps that require access to government-regulated chemicals in an exorbitantly expensive-to-operate refinery.”
Environmental groups have voiced concerns that these chemicals may be contaminating local groundwater. Reports of Neman’s Disorder have increased in communities near BioDove refineries. Though the data remains inconclusive, activists continue to protest the refineries.
Economics and Political Impacts
“The molecular construction of the oil is unique,” said Maria De La Ponce, a biogeologist from the University of Stickman. “There’s nothing like it. There’s just something about it that somehow interacts with electromagnetic forces that we just don’t know about. Maybe that’s what these people are experiencing…a kind of bad luck by-product.”
These incidents have not only raised questions about the risk factors of consuming the plant and its macura-based products, but the luck itself has alarmed economists.
“The issue is with who gets to have all the luck,” said Dale Fineman, an economist from Stickman University. “If small businesses and independent growers enter the market, then it’s no longer a $2000 candy bar for someone who already has everything they need.”
Political scientists also highlight geopolitical issues at stake.
“This is a tremendous resource,” said Dr. James Abiodun, a political scientist from Eastern Pennsylvania University. “If the U.S. doesn’t start growing this plant at a faster pace and if it doesn’t start operating processing factories across the nation, then we’ll fall behind other leading countries–China, North Korea, Russia–these mecura-deregulated nations will have all of the luck.”
A Political Divide
All of these issues have forced legislators on both sides of the aisle to take action. Senator Don Fox of New Jersey introduced a bill to protect migrants and luck farm workers. The bill, which has already garnered controversy, would increase sentences for assaults or harassment of any migrant or worker on a luck farm.
Opponents say this bill is simply meant to protect mecura-producer assets. Still, migrant-rights advocates say that this bill is vital to keeping more migrants and mecura farm workers from being harassed and physically harmed.
“How many deaths are enough to understand that a human has rights?” said Senator Fox of New Jersey. “Mr. Esconte was the first. Who’s next?”
The senator also has his opponents.
Senator Barbara Branch of Iowa agrees that luck farming is the way of the future and vital to national security, but has issues with our current model for harvesting and processing the crop.
“That’s nonsense,” said Senator Branch in response to his comments, “[He] has a long history of working with and being financed by the mecura-producer industry. If they stop funding his campaign, you’ll see how far his compassion for [migrants] goes.”
She cites a rise in incident reports on the luck farms. “The problem with an incident report is that it only shows a fraction of the violations that go on in these places. Do you think a migrant worker really wants to report their boss? This is what legislators like Senator Fox won’t speak about–children being snuck in to work dangerous machines, 12-hour shifts with no lunch or break, short-changing people on their checks. This is why these people are protesting.”
A Brother’s Loss
For Mr. Esconte, it was his first protest, and it was a demonstration that Juan Esconte, his brother, says he had mixed feelings about. “He was worried about losing his job and being deported. But he said that he had to show his son what it means to be a man and fight for your rights.”
But for Juan Esconte, also a worker at Pines Peak, the fight is a spiritual one. Last night at the site of the murder, he and dozens of other people from the Guanacan community held a vigil in Florio’s honor. They sang songs and made offerings of fruit and flowers to their ancestral gods. “The Guanacan people are still very much in touch with the past,” Juan Esconte says. “There will be justice for Florio in the end. I know it.”
But for most of the night, friends and relatives spoke fondly of Florio and remembered him as a family man who loved shooting pool and watching soccer. “He was a good father,” said Jariel Hernandez. “And a provider. Maybe one of these mecura-consumers will look down on us and help someday. We could use some luck on the bottom too.”
The Gaunacan Free Ledger is an independent publication reporting on labor, culture, and the expanding macura industry.
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