SHORT STORY BEER ON DRAFT
BEER ON DRAFT
Automatic traslation from the original story in Spanish. Not checked manually
The bartender’s hands moved with agility and precision. He tilted the glass under the beer tap as he turned the handle.
The glass began to fill without a drop of foam. When it reached half its capacity, he held it upright.
Moments later, a layer of foam about two fingers thick had formed. Just when it seemed like it was about to overflow, he closed the tap and leveled the glass with a wooden spatula. The excess foam gently fell into the kegerator’s drain.
With quick movements, he placed a coaster on the bar and placed the glass on it.
Pedro, beginning to salivate thinking about the incredible taste of the amber-colored liquid, reached for the glass…
It was then, just before taking the first sip, that he woke up with a start.
It took him a couple of seconds to figure out where he was and who he was, and with a pissed-off expression, he simply said, “Shit!”
There had been no beer for several months now. Well, in fact, everything had been scarce for a long time. It was even difficult to find food, and what was even worse was finding money to pay for it.
A long time had passed since that first blackout that left the Iberian Peninsula without electricity at the end of April 25th.
That blackout should have been a clear warning of the impending trouble, but no one paid attention.
No country, no leader took measures to reduce the unbearable energy consumption. This excessive energy expenditure, first caused by cryptocurrency mining and then by the use of artificial intelligence.
All this, added to the already enormous consumption generated by the massive use of cell phones, computers, electric vehicles, household appliances, and all the other nonsense that promised us a happier life, led to the collapse of the energy system.
Banks, unable to access computer systems, couldn’t give money to their customers. Credit cards were useless. Stock markets worldwide went to hell.
Cold, hunger, and, above all, the inability of most human beings to provide for themselves, sowed the world with death and desolation.
Since fossil fuel sources had almost disappeared and those that remained ran on electricity, vehicles of any kind could no longer be used. This meant that the corpses lying everywhere in the streets and squares were left uncollected.
Only a few, including Pedro, had been able to abandon urban centers to seek sustenance in nature itself and adapt to the new reality. A ruthless reality, but one that perhaps, with time, would lead to a better world.
Beer on Draft – Short stories series – Copyright ©Montserrat Valls and Juan Genovés