The Last Beekeeper: Chapters 1–3

by Pablo Cartaya
As a farmer in the Valley's Lot 2506, twelve-year-old Yolanda Cicerón does not have the money to continue her training to be a neurolink surgeon, so despite her sister's warning, she accepts a scholarship from the System.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–3, Chapters 4–9, Chapters 10–15, Chapters 16–22, "Understanding Bees"
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. blistering
    extremely hot
    I always look for the scratches on the cylindrical steel structure whenever we come to town. Nothing seems to take them away—not the tormentas that sweep through the Valley in the winter. Or the blistering calor that burns metal on the hottest days.
  2. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
    Not the storms of polvo and lluvia and hail that come sporadic and brutal across the Valley. Nothing seems to remove them from my sight line—like they refuse to be fully forgotten.
  3. pollinate
    fertilize by transferring spores from one plant to another
    Our rows of fields grow only tiny, pale fruit bulbs. The drones just don’t pollinate like they’re supposed to, but that’s probably because we haven’t gotten upgrades in over two years.
  4. silo
    a cylindrical tower used for storing grain
    The reflected sunlight creates pulses of light that transmit signals to the photoelectric cells that give energy to miles of fiber-optic cables coiled inside the silo towers.
  5. glare
    a light that is brighter than what the eyes are adapted to
    Right before sunset, the glare from the steel towers can be seen for hundreds of miles.
  6. avatar
    an electronic image representing a computer user
    Silo’s online System is big on extinct-animal avatars. It assigned me a panda with my username.
  7. concierge
    a caretaker in an apartment complex or hotel
    My V-probe earpiece vibrates, and Silo’s overly cheery concierge waddles on my screen and hums in my ear.
  8. intuitive
    spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency
    “I know, but we could put a pause on classes for a couple of months. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. We’ll sell some fresas, then get you logged back into the tech institution education—”
    “Technologically Intuitive Education, Cami,” I interrupt.
  9. insufficient
    of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement
    I swipe the icon to pay and see a huge sign shooting across my screen:
    REGISTRATION DENIED—INSUFFICIENT FUNDS
  10. prosthesis
    a device that replaces a missing part of the body
    Her left hand was shiny and spindly—an augmented prosthesis I noticed immediately.
  11. flaunt
    display proudly
    Do you realize how awful it is to flaunt an extinct animal as a fashion statement?
  12. yield
    production of a certain amount
    “How are they going to have licorice if they didn’t have a sugarcane yield last harvest?”
  13. guttural
    relating to or articulated in the throat
    Mamá would crack up hearing my sister’s deep voice breaking into high-pitched hisses and low guttural growls.
  14. decrepit
    worn and broken down by hard use
    That’s why the silos around the Valley stand empty and decrepit—old and fading like the one on the Tanakas’ farm.
  15. obsolete
    no longer in use
    They were always breaking down and too far out of Silo to fix regularly, so they became obsolete in favor of a better plan.
  16. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    Federico was always strutting around in his galactic emperor avatar skin like he owned the universe.
  17. amble
    walk leisurely
    I amble down the dirt road and kick up dust as I walk.
  18. salvage
    collect discarded or refused material
    As we leave Remembrance Road, I take in the refashioned two-story buildings made from scrap metal salvaged from across the Valley and beyond.
  19. wistfully
    in a pensively sad manner
    “We’ve come so far,” he says wistfully. “I remember the tents. The frigid nights. The complete darkness and cold.”
  20. relentless
    never-ceasing
    The storms across the country were relentless. Hurricanes on the coast. Freezes across the middle of the country. Twelve consecutive earthquakes that ripped a piece of the country off and sent it crumbling into the ocean.
  21. augmented
    added to or made greater in amount or number or strength
    “Did you know your sister was one of the first to have a successful augmented surgery here in Silo? After her unfortunate accident, we thought it would be good to use our rebuilding tech to help our fellow citizens who were injured in their service to their community.”
  22. indifferent
    marked by a lack of interest
    “How are you doing, Mayor Blackburn?” Cami smiles, but she’s not comfortable. It’s obvious with her blank stare and indifferent gaze.
  23. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    My sister’s nostrils tighten, and she slightly clenches her jaw. It’s subtle. The mayor doesn’t notice. But I do.
  24. query
    an instance of questioning
    I’m getting a ping about a query at the Exchange.
  25. appealing
    able to attract interest or draw favorable attention
    Cami is busy spraying the strawberries that are packed in the hover cart with water. As if that’s going to make them more appealing.
  26. trellis
    latticework used to support climbing plants
    And their tomato plants are just shriveled-up vines snaking up and down trellises lining their property.
  27. inedible
    not suitable for food
    I don’t get why she lets them eat the inedible fruit, but I guess it’s nice to see them laughing and enjoying themselves.
  28. pending
    awaiting conclusion or confirmation
    I look at my screen and see the pending scholarship has just been connected to my System account.
  29. spire
    a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building
    The familiar holograph of the redbrick building with spires that reach the virtual sky comes into view.
  30. prominent
    conspicuous in position or importance
    The class titles are prominently displayed above every classroom door:
    QUANTUM COMPUTING
    ADVANCED CODING LITERATURE
    BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACE
    PRE-NEUROLINK STUDIES
    ADVANCED NEUROLINK STUDIES
  31. override
    a manually operated device to correct an automatic device
    I’ve already taken Upgrades and Overrides and got the highest score of any student ever in Advanced Coding Literature, Brain Computer Interface, and Pre-Neurolink Studies.
  32. symbiosis
    the relation between two interdependent species of organisms
    He teaches the medical aspects of neurolink technology. I’ll get to learn how to program the tiny device for Al to human symbiosis.
  33. interface
    a point of interaction between a computer system and a user
    Maybe I’ll be the one who develops some new Al interface that brings us back to the pre-midcentury era of advanced technology!
  34. paranoid
    suffering from delusions of persecution or grandeur
    “The Exchange doesn’t give anything for free, Yoly. There’s always a catch. Something you’ll have to pay back.”
    “You’re paranoid,” I say.
  35. drone
    an aircraft without a pilot and operated by remote control
    The tiny pollinator drones buzz around, avoiding me as I dart over the plants.
  36. infraction
    a violation of a law or rule
    The System issues infractions if we don’t stay online. We can lose electricity from Silo’s power grid if the infraction is severe enough.
  37. retrofit
    substitute new or modernized parts for older ones
    “Weapons didn’t disappear, Yoly. They just got retrofitted and stocked in places where most people can’t get to them.”
  38. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    “Have you seen a weapon?” I ask, totally intrigued.
  39. rustle
    make a dry crackling sound
    She makes that same high-pitched laugh again, and something rustles in the bushes.
  40. coarse
    rough to the touch
    “See?” Cami says as I rub the cat’s coarse fur.
Created on Fri Nov 17 15:12:04 EST 2023 (updated Sat Nov 18 15:22:39 EST 2023)

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