Oxyopia Prison, 2043
Photo by Saad Nadeem
After four hours on the road, the armored prisoner transport vehicle stops at the gates to the Oxyopia Prison Greenhouse compound. Through the darkly tinted windows Stan can make out rows and rows of greenhouses, as far as the eye can see.
They are waved through by an armed guard, and the vehicle stops in front of a series of prefab units which serves as the prison office and welcome center. The prisoners are unchained and instructed to walk single file into the building. Stan notices a vibrant, hot pink orchid displayed on the reception counter. Each prisoner is assigned a building number for their living quarters, and given a paper map of the complex showing where the huts, common areas, and the prison cafeteria are located. They are given a copy of their work schedule, which begins tomorrow, then dismissed for the remainder of the day to familiarize themselves with their new environment.
The following day they are given an orientation complete with an overview of planting, pruning, picking, and packaging procedures. While he observes and listens to the instructor, Stan nods his head in agreement, and asks appropriate questions designed to allow the instructor to appear knowledgeable.
At noon, Stan and the other prisoners are released for a one-hour lunch break. After spending the last few months tending Oxyopia’s cucumber fields and being housed in a drafty, converted dairy barn, such luxury makes Stan feel giddy. For lunch they are served vegetarian burgers on whole wheat buns. Inside the bun are a few slivers of onion and thin tomato slices, as well as mustard. They are allowed to eat as many of the burgers as they want. The idea is to keep the prisoners well fed and rested up, so they have no desire to escape into the surrounding hinterland.
In the afternoon, their instructor proudly announces the expansion of the Oxyopia Prison Greenhouse compound. He explains that many new prisoners will be arriving over the course of the next few weeks. Several huge new greenhouses are already under construction, and when they are completed they will be used to grow the seedlings for Oxyopia’s massive tree planting initiative. As well, a small percentage of the greenhouses will be used to grow marijuana. Stan is hardly shocked to learn this. He's always suspected that the drug trade has been run from the top down. Some of the prisoners in the group raise their hands and ask it there is a sign-up list for the marijuana grow ops, but Stan feigns disinterest and asks instead if he can help in any way with the new prisoners that will be arriving. Surely the current instructor will need someone to assist in training of the new prisoners.
After the prisoners are dismissed, the instructor asks Stan to remain behind for an informal chat. Stan learns that most of the incoming prisoners will be from Oxyopia’s Juvenile Prison section, and will be onsite for a minimum period of six months. Many of them are uneducated and full of themselves, just as he was at their age. They are to learn Organic Agriculture as part of their prison sponsored education.
Stan’s first morning as supervisor of the juveniles is busy and productive. He meets the instructor at the tomato greenhouse section at 8:00 a.m. and is given a yellow reflective safety vest to wear. That way the juvenile delinquents will know who is boss. At 8:45 the youths are dropped off at the doors of the greenhouse and welcomed by Stan and his instructor. More than a few of the youths drag their feet around with untied shoelaces. Stan thinks this must be a new fad. In total there are twenty male youths between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.
As they file in the greenhouse doors, they are scanned for contraband and metal. When the all clear is given, Stan's instructor takes over. He tells the youths that they are very privileged to have the opportunity of learning a useful skill like gardening, while other youths at Oxyopia have less pleasant duties such as cleaning the toilets, or washing dishes in the prison cafeteria.
Without further ado, the supervisor introduces Stan, then makes himself scarce. Although Stan is a bit nervous, he takes his place at the front of the group, and the first thing he tells the youths is that there is no such thing as a stupid question. In fact, he encourages questions.
They start off with a tour of the of the greenhouse. Stan stops the group every now and then to tell the name of each species of tomato: Amish Gold, Beauty King, Earl of Edgecombe. The tomatoes in this greenhouse are all a yellow variety.
A sneery youth puts up his hand and asks what Amish means. Stan tells him that the Amish were old fashioned pioneers of sorts who grew their own food and did not use cars or electricity. The women and men slept and ate in different places. The words are barely out of his mouth when another youth calls out of turn, "Kind of like Oxyopia Prison, eh?" The whole group breaks out laughing at Stan's expense, and he is left speechless.
While they are observing the climbing varieties, one of the youths picks a tiny disformed tomato. It looks like there is a penis growing out of it. The juveniles make a lot of fuss and crude remarks about the poor little tomato, so Stan confiscates it and puts it inside the pocket of his reflective vest. If only they would show a smidgeon of respect for the plants that provide oxygen and sustain every cell in the human body, Stan thinks, but the youths are not interested. One of the juvies shoves a scrawny youth and makes him bump into Stan. The small tomato is crushed inside his vest pocket and a stain seeps through the mesh fabric. Stan is livid and shouts they are the dumbest lot he's ever come across in his sixty-five years on this sordid earth. The smart aleck who instigated the pushing yells, "What’re you in for Gramps? Swearing in public?" All the juvies break out in rebellious laughter and jeering until Stan walks right up to the smart aleck and forces a tight-lipped smile. “Manslaughter,” he says, and the room goes silent.