"It's not supposed to rain for another week," Rayna muttered, staring at the cracked ground.
Her fingers clenched the thick report in her hand, a forecast warning of yet another dry spell. She didn’t need the report to know it was bad—every inch of the land beneath her sneakers had the feel of death. Austin’s water reservoirs had dwindled to a shadow of their former selves, rationing was becoming tighter, and every whisper of rain had turned into a myth passed between weary neighbors.
But Rayna Solis wasn’t the type to accept defeat. Two years ago, after her nanofabric breakthrough, she’d begun revolutionizing the way Austin thought about water. Inspired by the Namib beetles that survived in the most arid deserts by capturing water droplets from thin air, she designed a material capable of doing the same. Whole neighborhoods had lined up to get their homes clad in it—modular walls made from the synthetic weave that could trap moisture and slowly funnel it into small, personal reservoirs.
Austin had been declared a model of sustainability. Rayna was a hero.
But now, things were changing.
Rayna bent down, scooping a handful of dirt, letting the dry, lifeless particles sift through her fingers. "They said we could hold out," she whispered to herself, but the looming thought pressed against her chest. It had been six months since the fabric panels stopped capturing enough water.
Behind her, a footstep scraped the ground. Rayna straightened and turned to see Wes, her project lead, approaching. His face was pale, skin drawn tight over his cheekbones.
“Rayna, you need to come with me,” he said, his voice low, barely containing something like panic.
She raised an eyebrow. Wes was rarely ever rattled. Not since the early days when the prototype failed in the lab, and they had all been too stubborn to sleep. But now? Wes wasn’t the type to buckle. “What’s going on?”
“There’s something wrong with the panels.” He glanced around as though the cracked soil had ears, his voice dropping even lower. “We tested the newest batch this morning. And...well, it’s not just that they aren’t capturing water.”
Rayna’s heart kicked against her ribs. “What do you mean?”
“They’re expelling it. Everything they’ve harvested, all the moisture we thought we’d gained...it’s leaking out. It’s like...the fabric is rejecting the water.”
She blinked, disbelief spreading through her. “That’s not possible. We’ve tested this design for years.”
“I’m telling you, Rayna, something’s off. The fabric isn’t acting the way it’s supposed to anymore.” Wes ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair, the afternoon sun already baking them. “We checked the panels in three different districts. Same issue. Water levels are dropping.”
She looked down at her hands, at the skin caked with fine dirt, and rubbed her fingers together. “It can’t be…” Her mind raced, sifting through all the possible causes—temperature shifts, chemical imbalances in the air, faults in the material. None of it added up.
Wes shifted on his feet. “That’s not all.”
Rayna’s stomach dropped. “What else?”
“There’s something about the expelled water. It’s...changing.”
“Changing?” She folded her arms, waiting for the punchline. “Wes, what the hell does that mean?”
“We analyzed it,” he said, swallowing hard. “The composition of the water. It's not normal H2O anymore. There's...something growing in it.”
She stared at him, pulse hammering. Growing. She remembered the warnings she'd ignored—about the accelerated nature of the materials they’d engineered, about the possibility of unforeseen mutations. Rayna had dismissed them all. Water was water. What could possibly go wrong?
But now the water, their lifeline, their hope, was turning against them. Her mind scrambled, searching for a solution, but every thought was interrupted by a deeper, creeping realization that something far worse was happening. Something they hadn’t accounted for.
Rayna met Wes’s eyes. “How bad is it?”
He hesitated, glancing over his shoulder toward the distant outline of the city. “We found signs of it in the tap water. And in some of the reservoirs.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
“What do you mean, signs?” she asked, her voice nearly a whisper.
“It’s spreading, Rayna. And it’s moving faster than we can stop it.”
Rayna turned away, her eyes scanning the horizon, but instead of Austin’s skyline shimmering in the late sun, all she saw were the dry cracks in the earth, stretching out like veins of a body that had already begun to wither. And now, something inside that body was growing.
Something she might not be able to control.
“Show me the water,” she whispered.
Wes nodded, and they began walking toward the lab.
But behind them, in the shadow of Rayna’s own house, a single drop of liquid shimmered at the corner of the wall, sliding free from the panel and falling into the dust below.
The dirt hissed, the ground rippling as if disturbed by the drop. Something dark curled beneath the surface, twitching once before disappearing.
Rayna had no idea that the earth itself was beginning to wake.
🚮 W.A.S.T.E.: Words Assisting Sustainable Transformation & Ecology
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ambrosia trifida (0.00) | Ambrosia trifida, the giant ragweed, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread in Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico. DistributionIt is present in Europe and Asia as an introduced species, and it is known as a common weed in many regions. Its common names include great ragweed, Texan great ragweed, giant ragweed, tall ragweed, blood ragweed, perennial ragweed, horseweed,buffaloweed, and kinghead. DescriptionThis is an annual herb usually growing up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall, but known to reach over 6 m (20 ft) in rich, moist soils. The tough stems have woody bases and are branching or unbranched. Most leaves are oppositely arranged. The blades are variable in shape, sometimes palmate with five lobes, and often with toothed edges. The largest can be over 25 cm (9.8 in) long by 20 cm (7.9 in) wide. They are borne on petioles several centimeters long. They are glandular and rough in texture. The species is monoecious, with plants bearing inflorescences containing both pistillate and staminate flowers. The former are clustered at the base of the spike and the latter grow at the end. The fruit is a bur a few millimeters long tipped with several tiny spines. As a weedThis species is well known as a noxious weed, both in its native range and in areas where it is an introduced and often invasive species. It is naturalized in some areas, and it is recorded as an adventive species in others. It grows in many types of disturbed habitat, such as roadsides, and in cultivated fields. Widespread seed dispersal occurs when its spiny burs fall off the plant and are carried to new habitat by people, animals, machinery, or flowing water. The plant is destructive to native and crop plants because it easily outcompetesthem for light. Herbicide resistant giant ragweed populations were first identified in the late 1990s. Across much of the midwestern United States, populations resistant to group 2 (ALS-inhibitors) and group 9 (glyphosate) are present, though resistant to multiple herbicide modes of action has not yet been documented. There remains concern that herbicide resistance is more widespread than documented and many states like Minnesota offer free screening of giant ragweed for herbicide resistance. For chemical control, use of group 4 (2-4D) and group 10 (glufosinate) are effective. As an allergenAlso, interest is great in preventing the spread of this plant because its pollen is a significant human allergen. It is one of the most familiar allergenic ragweeds, and residents of different regions begin to experience allergic symptoms as the plant spreads into the area. UsesNative Americans had a number of uses for the plant as traditional medicine. The Cherokeeused it as a remedy for insect stings, hives, fever, and pneumonia, and the Iroquois used it to treat diarrhea. Giant ragweed has been used successfully as a compost activator and an ingredient in sheet mulch gardens. |
| Arrival Hour (0.00) | A moment outside of chronology when a crowd gathers not to witness but to be witnessed, waiting for something that may never fall. |
| Biomimicry (0.00) | The practice of drawing inspiration from nature’s designs, processes, and systems to create sustainable human technologies and solutions. |
| Circular Economy (0.00) | The linear take-make-waste model is failing. The circular economy offers a regenerative, restorative path. This section shows how ReLeaf in Austin, Texas, puts that approach to work. Through articles and Organic Fiction, we document practical steps toward sustainable, democratic, and equitable exchange. ReLeaf helps unlock dormant spaces for shared income and supports Austin’s Zero Waste goals. The team is not only imagining a better future. They are building it. Picture a city where waste is rare, materials cycle again and again, and success includes social and environmental gains. Join us as we trace Austin’s shift to a circular economy and consider how the same principles can scale worldwide to create shared prosperity and lasting sustainability. |
| Clandestine Collective (0.00) | A hidden network of urban stewards who move beneath the official grid, planting quiet interventions such as living walls, water hacks, and spectral gardens that reshape the city without ever claiming credit. |
| Code Rain (0.00) | The visual shimmer seen during network synchronization events. Appears like falling digital mist that leaves no trace but calms the mind. |
| Creekside Testament (0.00) | The whispered truth of moving water, reminding wanderers that time itself delivers quiet justice. |
| Elle West (0.00) | A laundromat refashioned from an industrial husk, its machines rumored to cleanse more than fabric, sometimes spinning open seams into hidden archives where memory and city overlap. |
| Fridge Oracle (0.00) | The everyday hum of appliances that transforms into a voice of hidden truths and quiet warnings. |
| Glitchtotem (0.00) | A misprinted vertical banner turned neighborhood shrine where broken instructions pose as belief. |
| Interconnectedness (0.00) | Practice of local repair, reuse, mutual care, and shared access. People use scrap, skills, and trust to keep each other safe and resourced when official systems fail. |
| Legacy Fault (0.00) | A fracture seeded into the city’s foundation, timed to crack open when history demands it. |
| Mimicry Commons (0.00) | A shared field where imitation is not theft but nourishment, each copy germinating into something new. |
| Rootroom (0.00) | The imagined chamber beneath the soles where balance grows, deeper than any agency, court, or failed system. |
| Shoal Creek (0.00) | Shoal Creek is changing. At the Seaholm Intake, the water and stone hold a new role for the city. Engineers and naturalists are close to confirming a time-bending effect in the current. Short pulses move both downstream and upstream. Standing near the intake leaves people rested and clear, as if a long afternoon just ended. This site becomes a public time commons. The cooled chambers host sensors and quiet rooms. The walkway links to Central across the water. The mycelium network listens, then routes what the creek gives: steadier attention, better recall, and a calm pace for work and care. What to expect: Check-in stones that log a short visit and return a focus interval Benches that sync with the flow and guide five-minute rest cycles A simple light on the rail that signals when the current flips A small desk for field notes and shared observations Open data on pulse times so neighbors can plan repairs, study, and gatherings Invitation Come without hurry. Sit by the intake. Let the water set your pace. Then carry that steadiness back into the city. |
| Tradescantia pallida (0.00) | Tradescantia pallida is a species of spiderwort native to the Gulf Coast region of eastern Mexico. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' is commonly called purple secretia, purple-heart, or purple queen. Edward Palmer collected the type specimen near Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas in 1907. Tradescantia pallida is an evergreen perennial plant of scrambling stature. It is distinguished by elongated, pointed leaves - themselves glaucous green, sometimes fringed with red or purple - and bearing small, three-petaled flowers of white, pink or purple. Plants are top-killed by moderate frosts, but will often sprout back from roots. The cultivar T. pallida 'Purpurea' has purple leaves and pink flowers. Widely used as an ornamental plant in gardens and borders, as a ground cover, hanging plant, or - particularly in colder climates where it cannot survive the winter season - houseplant, it is propagated easily by cuttings (the stems are visibly segmented and roots will frequently grow from the joints). Numerous cultivars are available, of which 'Purpurea' with purple foliage has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Support this species by reading about it, sharing with others, and donating monthly or yearly to the ReLeaf Cooperative in honor of Tradescantia pallida. We deliver any quantity of these, for free, to any ReLeaf site (Free Little Library or other suggested location in the Shoal Creek, Waller Creek, and Fort Branch watersheds). We are currently seeking cooperative members in Austin and beyond to cultivate and provide Tradescantia pallida and other species for free to ReLeaf sites in their local watersheds. Inquire by email: bryceb@releaf.site. Thanks! |
| Waste Integration (0.00) | In a world grappling with waste management crises, Waste Integration offers a novel solution. This philosophy looks beyond mere recycling or upcycling; instead, it weaves waste into the very fabric of our everyday lives in a meaningful and beautiful manner. Explore a wealth of creative methods to turn your home and community into sustainable ecosystems, where every item has a purpose, and nothing goes to waste. From transforming scrap metal into functional art, to building modular planters out of discarded plastic, Waste Integration is a testament to human creativity and resilience in the face of environmental challenges. With a combination of theoretical discussions, practical guides, and inspiring stories, our Waste Integration content shines a spotlight on this game-changing movement, demonstrating how each one of us can contribute to a more sustainable and circular economy. |
| Watersheds (0.00) | Practice of local repair, reuse, mutual care, and shared access. People use scrap, skills, and trust to keep each other safe and resourced when official systems fail. |