Goodness, what a morning! Here in the Piedmont there is a slow-motion struggle that is snagged in events overseas. The issue at this point, here anyway, is construction of two modest rectangular buildings on an equestrian property off Rt 3, just a couple miles from The Farm. There is an information campaign in progress about it. A lot of people are concerned, and distracted from the war overseas. Construction would require re-zoning land currently classed as “Agricultural” to “Light industrial.” Doesn’t sound like much, the buildings are anonymous in exterior appearance. Building them would supply jobs to the county, and a modest crew for long-term employment to maintain them.

Here are the talking points in favor: “Green jobs, low impact, good for moderate growth.”

The other side of the information campaign is the realization that “data centers” generate a wildly excessive requirement for power and water. Estimates range the new needs being from 15 to 100 times more energy and cooling requirements than for a similar-sized commercial structure. And the need for cooling water requires a treatment infrastructure and new wells that could, with other development, lower our County aquifer and leave our Farm wells dry. Oh, the power needs? They recommend paving the fields with glass panels from China.

So, there is that. It took most of the morning to deconstruct available information to understand what is at stake and who will benefit. Other stuff piled up, part of an information war here, sparked by real violence elsewhere. There were three sparks that flashed in the background to concerns about our well.

One was the account by Viscount Christopher Monkton about the history of the information campaign of the last fifty years to convince the West to abandon the fossil fuels that fueled its power. That had some concerned. Buck waved a missive from a son, purported to contain a letter from a Russian FSB officer (successor to Mr. Putin’s KGB) that outlined the problems with the land campaign in Ukraine.

The third note of interest was from a Congressman who represents the citizens of region in which most of us lived while serving what is purported to be the same government. He reported on his recent trip to the Polish border, infused with support for the Ukrainian people in their pivotal struggle and of course requested contributions to his re-election campaign.

We all understand parts of the three information streams, but as former professionals in this sort of non-kinetic warfare, took it all as streams of weaponized information supporting kinetic campaigns with rockets and artillery. It is clear the Russians are having trouble, and what was expected to be a brief lightning campaign has been transformed into a slogging and depressing struggle conducted by tanks in snow-covered mud.

At the Fire Ring under seasonal skies, Splash spoke not caring that our attorney was listening. “Training and maintenance are both expensive and horribly unglamorous… And the Russians have screwed up training processes for decades…

Loma laughed, a short barking exhalation: “Yeah, a lucky bomb finding Zelensky could be a problem. But on the other hand, a month ago Putin could argue that there was no Ukraine. Since then, Putin has become the greatest Ukrainian patriot: he has crystalized for a hundred years the idea of Ukrainian independence.”

“So what is it that we know is true?” That was from Melissa, the member of the Writer’s Section who can normally cut to the chase on things that matter to us personally, and what is part of the great parade of drama being played out on screen around the world.

“We know that there is a powerful Ukrainian message that features mothers and children in peril from invaders. There is another stream of information about ancient NAZIs suddenly resurrected and who must be crushed to preserve Peace.”

“Peace by war, in other words,” said DeMille slowly. “I am almost tired of seeing the pictures of grandmothers armed with Kalashnikov rifles. You just described what is happening here in the Piedmont with those Data Centers. The two counties north of us now host 30% of the world’s data processing capability. Need is growing, and we are the most likely and affordable way for that to continue to grow.”

Splash was still overseas. He lit up a Marlboro and blew a gray cloud over the gray ashes in the middle of the stones lit bright by dawn’s golden rays. “Right now, Zelensky believes he has the psychological advantage over Putin. This was meant to be a quick campaign and a fait accompli. When that didn’t happen in the first week, Putin’s policy went off the rails.”

Rocket sighed, unable to hit the throttles and blow through the fight as is his professional custom. “They should have gone for the small solution and just annexed the two Oblasts on the East side of the Dnepr River.”

There seemed to be general agreement on that, since the possibility on this morning at this time is that someone might feel the need to demonstrate an old genie is now out of the atomic bottle.”

Buck looked down. “From what you people tell me, the underlying problem is the structural weakness of the Russian military. Putin must be furious with them. He lavished scarce resources on the military and then they underperformed. My guess is there were some generals who would have counseled caution.”

DeMille rose to try to bring the day to order. He looked around the circle without emotion. “I think we are at a pivot point this morning. There are things happening that are driven by the desires of people who will not acknowledge their participation.”

“So what do we do?” asked Loma.

“Describe the pivot point on which we are perched. Avoid the emotion of the narratives that drove us here. Try to make sense of it, and attempt to hold someone, somewhere responsible when the time comes.”

“When the hell is that?” growled Splash. There was a moment of silence that Melissa chose to break.

“In my experience, we can only see the pivots in the rear view. We need to watch very carefully. And put aside some Social Security money in case it turns out we have to drill a new and deeper well.”

That got some ironic laughter, and then we were ready to talk about something that made it look like we were working. And awake.

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
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