The Shepherd's Trail, Part 5: The Economy
From an economic perspective, the Church determined early in its colony planning to focus on agriculture. New Jerusalem’s climate, with its fertile soil (compatible with all forms of Earth plant life after some modification) and massive network of rivers, made it an ideal farming colony. Vast fields of crops and herds of animals spread over the planet, with the occasional hub for the residents to turn in crops and products as well as receive services. These hubs would eventually form the core of the cities that would later dot the world. The Church maintained complete control of interplanetary trade. Anything that went off world or came to New Jerusalem was handled directly by the Church. Raw materials were collected, processed, packaged, and mostly shipped back to Earth or the other colonies. What was left was used to provide food to the population. Metals and other geological resources were also shipped off-world, but a larger portion were used to produce machinery, parts, and other critical equipment. The materials shipped out were sold, and the funds were used to bankroll new colonist waves and the purchase of materials that could not be produced locally.
Despite the Church’s monopoly on interstellar trade, local trade was wide open. Companies from Earth were able to negotiate the rights to build factories on the planet, and locals started their own using either money from before their immigration or after their work contract concluded. Truly heavy industry, however, was never achieved on a large scale. This was due to a combination of lack of off-world support to startups and more lucrative opportunities on other worlds.
In terms of education, New Jerusalem was relatively far behind the other colonies. Due to the Church controlling most of the infrastructure, engineers, chemists, and other specialists requiring university education were all taught through the Church. Many graduates stayed on with the Church, and were inducted into the clergy so they would do their work as part of it. Local basic education standards were also relatively low, with less than 60% of Jerusalemites meeting the equivalent of Earth’s basic education standard. This trend highlighted the biggest weakness of New Jerusalem’s society and the fundamental reason why the Earth Concordat withdrawal hit the planet so hard: society as a whole was too reliant on the Church.
The massive 8-wheeled grain carrier drove through the gates of the collection point. Arissa saw the golden chalice, a symbol of the Church, painted on each of the gate doors as they drove through. She was riding in the back, alongside seven others and hundreds of bushels of grain earmarked for the Church. It was hot and muggy, which was only made worse by the lack of cover over the grain carrier’s bed. Once the hulking carrier lurched to a halt, she jumped off the back alongside her companions. Most of them were like her, children of former colonists or third generation New Jerusalemites employed by the largest farm in the region, and today was delivery dat. Three were older, and were serving out their immigration contracts on the same farm. The old man who ran the farm had been an immigrant from Earth himself, but he had turned his farming contract experience into a small business empire.
The farm produced all manner of crops from grain to corn, and was even expanding into livestock. Arissa was glad she hadn’t been transferred to the cattle yard or the woolly bear fields. Dealing with animals that large didn’t appeal to her. Arissa and her companions were to help offload the shipment being collected by the Church for shipment off-world. Once the carrier had been loaded, they would then load it again, this time full of packaged food, parts, and all sorts of other materials the farm and its workers needed to survive. During this time the old man who ran the farm would deal with the Church officials who oversaw the collection and distribution of products. The Church would also buy a portion of the delivery, which would then be used to pay her and the other non-contract help. The work was tiring and lasted most of a day, but she and the other workers pushed hard to get it done. The fact that once they got back their workday was over was part of it, but mostly it was because the worker who did the most got a ride back in the air-conditioned cab and some extra money.
Once it was all finished, they gathered around the old man who started handing out payments. He even gave a little to the contract help, ‘tips’ he called it. He looked at Arissa and held out some extra money. “Good job today, I’ll be sure to tell your mother you work harder than she did at your age” he said. Arissa felt a bit embarrassed. Her mother had worked for the old man, and he had always spoken highly of her. He motioned to the cab, and she got in with him. As the carrier drove out of the gates, the workers in the back started singing a work song. Arissa was about to join in when she heard a clicking sound. She instantly knew what it was.
The old man was fidgeting with his antique pocket watch again.
