Later, some while after they had made the long trip back to their room at the inn in Avebury, Dema joined Cern in the little lounge next to the front entrance. Cern was deep in discussion with some local men, farmers by their talk, about the effects certain pesticides were having on bees and other pollinators, which in turn affected their crops.

Cern, who seemed to have been doing his homework, was referring to the pesticides as neonicotinoids, and saying that France, Germany and Italy had already banned them in some applications, but that they remain favored because of their effectiveness against aphids and other sucking and chewing insects that can destroy crops. The farmers were nodding as if they knew these things.

After everyone welcomed Dema, Cern went on to say, "Okay, let's see if I have the rest of this straight. The effectiveness of neonicotinoids is due to the way they work. They can be applied to seed, and are absorbed in such a way that they spread through the whole plant as it grows, so they remain effective until it is harvested. But this means it is in the plant pollen, so bees ingest it." More nods. One of the farmers spoke up.

"They told us our bees wouldn't eat enough of it to hurt them. But now some of them admit this isn't always true, because the stuff can remain active for years, and can get into the ground water. So the effects can add up, and we never know if we should use treated seed again or not."

Another farmer added, "If it gets in the water it can even spread to other crops and native plants that don't need it, or increase the amount in crops grown from treated seed. So even if it was safe to start with, after a while we just can't be sure any more. We end up not knowing which will be worse, the losses caused by aphids or the losses caused by a shortage of bees for pollination."

There seemed to be no immediate solution to these worries. The farmers began apologizing to Dema for their "man talk" and rose to leave. Cern promised to look for some answers. When he and Dema were alone, he said, "I've already been in touch with 'Mr. Green' about this. He's inclined to let the aphids have their share, but he understands the pressure the farmers are under to feed the vastly increased population. He's confident that in the long run things will come back into balance, but for him the long run could be another thousand years, and bringing things back into balance might include a plague that wipes out more than half the people."

"Can he at least protect the bees somehow?"

"He's doing what he can. When farmers purposely release bees into a treated field for pollination he can't prevent their exposure, but he can keep the wild hives and honey farm bees from going to those fields too often."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know. I think I want to go back to France and Germany, talk to farmers and beekeepers there who have dealt with this, and get in touch with local nature spirits there too. Find out how they are handling things."

"Well, then, it's just like I told Dame Agatha. Our quest is not complete."

"Where's that map of Europe?"