Hiding In The Green: A Fallout 4 Story

Nothing More Important

Back at the Valentine Detective Agency office:

"This is amazing!" Ellie marveled as she read. "Beans, beets, cabbage, cucumbers—you really have seeds for all these things?"

"Yes," Raina replied. "And there are different varieties, too. I figured, the first few years, it would be better just to get things to people without offering two dozen different kinds of beans, for example."

"I have to agree there, Greenie," Piper put in.

"Greenie?" Raina looked at the reporter. She had opted to tag along from the moment Nick, Raina and King entered Diamond City, and she had offered to help compile the final draft.

"I don't know, it seems like you need a nickname, and 'Queenie' is too obvious. You're new to Topside, so in that way, you're green, and you're bringing green things back to the world, plus you're what they call olive-skinned. So, Greenie."

The agroecologist thought about it a moment and shrugged. "Okay. To you I can be Greenie."

"I wonder about whether you ought to offer flowers," Nick tightened the screws in his naked metal wrist. The housing was stripped, which was why they kept coming loose. Someday they'd refuse to stay in at all, and then he would be....screwed. He grimaced at the unintentional pun.

"Most of them have practical uses," Raina said. "Nasturtium blossoms are edible, sort of peppery tasting, and they go good in salads. Pot marigolds are good as seasoning in soups, and feverfew reduces fevers. You can use stewed boneset stalks to make casts for broken limbs, and as an herb it has a lot of uses. I admit zinnias don't do anything besides look pretty, but they're easy to grow. Life ought to be about more than just survival."

"I'm not against flowers or a bit of beauty in life, it's just that with so little land cleared for planting, will people really want to spare any for something they can't eat or use in other ways?" Nick put the screwdriver back in his pocket and took out his cigarettes.

"Yes, they will," Ellie said staunchly, "even if it's just a few in a bed by their front door. Although I have to agree with Nick when it comes to putting a price on things. You have to. Have you ever heard the expression, 'You get what you pay for?' If you give these seeds and plants away, people will either think they're worthless, or that it's some kind of Institute trap and you're an Institute agent. And believe me, you don't want that."

"Yeah, Greenie. You don't." Piper echoed. "Besides, you're having trouble scraping together enough caps to pay for the printing. Nick said you sold your hair to Daisy in Goodneighbor to help fund it."

"Oh, I was wondering what happened to her hair," Ellie said, enlightenment dawning in her voice.

Nick screwed up his face in a sympathetic wince. "Raina, I get the impression you think charging money, I dunno, taints what you're doing. It doesn't, as long as you keep prices within what people can afford either in caps or trade. You ought to at least make enough to cover your expenses. After all, you're hurting for fusion cores, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said, drawing out the word, "but—."

"Imagine this scenario," he waved a hand, sending tendrils of smoke from his cigarette around the room. "Somebody comes by and takes several sacks of your best seed potatoes. They say 'Thank you', but they snicker as they walk away because they're actually raiders who look at you and see a sucker. All they're going to do is eat them or make them into moonshine, and come back in a few weeks for more with some sob story. Believe me, that's exactly what's going to happen—if you just give stuff away."

"I hadn't thought of that," Raina admitted, sounding very young and small.

"Well, like Piper said, you're green in the sense of inexperienced. That'll change over time.  The point is, you can be a do-gooder and still make money. Take me as an example. Speaking of which, I have to go tell my client his daughter is with Skinny of her own free will. I'll bring you all back Nuka-Colas and noodle cups."