Chapter 8: White is the Color of Knowledge -Part 2
White light around me faded as a man in a lab coat walked back and forth along a counter. He was dissecting plants, sorting seeds, and doing research on his computer. I seem to be entranced in some kind of vision or memory as I can't move or speak.
The 1st man in lab coat seemed irritated, "I wanted to use the redwood tree as a base, but it seems the compounds will overtake the other genes. How are we supposed to complete this if we can't even start with the initial host plant?"
A second man from out of my vision responding, "There's no intelligence here to differentiate what is the important aspects of each splice. You can't convince the plant it needs the strength of a redwood, the beauty of a lily, and the sharpest thorns of a cactus."
The first man laughed, "sounds like you're describing a woman, not a plant hybrid. Why don't you start there and you have the perfect model for a hybrid, a woman who literally stings when she's defensive, she holds he ground when she can, strong enough to bare the weight of anything, but still pretty to look at."
The second man grabbed the first by the shoulders, "Dan, I think you're on to something, take a break and let me think by myself." Finally getting a good look at the second man, I realized who he was: Dr. Forest Green. I gasped internally, knowing this must be where it all started.
Time passed on in fast forward as Dr. Green threw himself in to his work, failing over and over again. Losing sleep as he tweaked a plant here, threw away a bad part there, he continued on. His lab changed, some plants stayed, others left until one day he exclaimed, "Success! This has to work."
Dan, the original lab coat scientist was invited back in to the lab, horrified by what Dr. Green was showing him excitedly. "Forest, you can't be serious, you could be put in prison for the rest of your life. What have you done?"
Dr. Green had taken plants with the largest seed qualities, and potential for growth and combined them to produce a plant. This plant was then being fertilized to produce its own seeds. His intention was to plant a human embryo in the plant while it was in a gestational growth period, and to end up with a human, plant hybrid when the plant bloomed. He had not taken fertilized eggs at this time, but his crime was using human DNA in producing the plant in the first place. Human stem cells, cerebral spinal fluid, and anything and everything had been attempted in this grotesque experiment.
Dan was horrified and shocked. He knew this was wrong and immoral and needed reported. Dr. Green saw through him. He had other plans for the betrayal of Dan. He gestured to a door that had been taped shut, "Dan, my oldest friend, please, I can explain myself, it's not what you think. Our ozone layer is failing us, and the climate change will wipe out humanity in the next hundred years or so. If we can't change the ozone layer to protect ourselves, we must then change ourselves to fit what's left of the ozone layer."
Dan stared wide eyed at him saying, "Forest, I really want to have every faith in you, and your attempts to save humanity, but we can't use humans in our experiments. We have to remove the evidence so you aren't caught in the fire when someone finds you out."
Dr. Green slipped on a gas mask as Dan opens the door to the rear lab. Poisonous fumes filled the air, as putrid smells filled the main lab through the door. Moans emanated through the cloud as Dan grabbed his mouth and nose with one hand, and his chest with the other.
"What. Have. You. Done." Dan coughed out his last words as he collapsed on the floor.
Dr. Green responded to his corpse, lying feet in front of him, "My babies needed fertilizer, you will do just fine. It IS a shame that you couldn't assist me, we would have worked much faster as a team." He leaned in the doorway of the rear lab, speaking to the void he said, "Come pets, nourish your weak bodies and strengthen yourselves. We have much more work to do."
Vines reached out through the doorway, ends looking like hands, slimy green fingers grabbing the ankles of poor Dan. Dr. Green cackled, reaching down to caress a green hand as it slithered past him, back in to dark room.
Months had passed as Dr. Green's evil experiments went on, eventually pulling his wife in for further knowledge. She willingly accepted his madness, partaking of her own measures to further his research. It was for the good of the people in the end, wasn't it?
It wasn't until his doting wife joined him that his plans truly started to become a reality. His seeds had produced a magnificent hybrid. The beauty was six feet tall, red as crimson, and the appearance of a lily, but with thorns of a rose. Dr. Green had the intentions of keeping her long enough for her to produce seeds, then he would scrap every last one out of her before they were released, finishing their growth in his own lab, like a baby grown in a test tube.
His creatures pawed at the lily, wanting her for themselves, but Dr. Green was greedy and he burned them all like he was ridding his lab on contaminants. He was able to extract the seeds, killing the radiant lily in the process. He injected the lily's offspring daily with different hormones, and who knows what else, finally planting them all in his hydro farm. Here he could monitor the growth of their roots, and see which one of his precious seeds would yield the child bearing potential in its fruit.
Out of all of the seeds he had injected, only one grew strong enough to leave the water flow. He transplanted it in to a raised garden bed, the soil made up of the remains of his former pet hybrids. His wife sung to the newborn plant like it was her own newborn baby. They coddled it, fertilized it, and treated it like a child. A child needs a name though, and they called her Reya.
Reya grew, and as she did, she could almost communicate with Dr. Green and his wife. Her vines were able to act out and move as hands, and she became more independent. She started to grow tall and thick like a flowering tree. Her beauty could not be surpassed in the plant world, for nothing had ever existed like her, nor did they think anything ever would.
Dr. Green waited until Reya was fully grown before he and his wife decide it was time to attempt their fully adapted hybrid birth. As Reya's buds formed, crimson lilies hidden under green leaves, they implanted five fertilized human hybrid eggs. Reya was torn over this betrayal, not understanding why her beautiful buds were being manipulated and infected with an unknown substance. She started to doubt Dr. Green, even after his long and dedicated care.
A funny thing happened though, as Reya grew and her knowledge increased, she learned to tap in to the plants around her. They shared their truths with her, for plants have no reason to hide or lie, and through this she learned the horrors of Dr. Green and his wife. She watched the memories of the plants in the lab, how he murdered his co-worker, and the plant experiments, even her mother Lily. She felt the pain of their deaths and her trunk slowly started turning black. Her beautiful crimson lilies started falling off, one by one, turning a deep forest green and black themselves, as she mourned. Dr. Green panicked as his beautiful plant started to wither and die. He worked feverishly to find a lily branch that had not been desecrated.
In the end he was able to save a single clipping. He delicately transplanted his propagation, mourning the loss of Reya, praying a small part of her would live on. Dr. Green and his wife threw themselves in to caring for yet another newborn plant, begging it to survive.
Reya had been an amazing being, and her child carried on growing just as strong in her stead. Her baby girl started flowering early, but her buds never bloomed. Instead of the gorgeous crimson lilies, Her buds were a deep green, black streaks running through.
What Dr. Green still didn't know at this point, was that Reya had passed her memories on to her daughter plant before passing. Her daughter refused to grow tall like a tree, keeping herself small and bushy, like a traditional lily plant. She had no pride as her mother did and didn't need to draw attention to herself. She didn't want her own lilly buds to be tampered with and hid them well in her leaves.
Dr. Green did have pride however, and after the extensive funding he had been given, he had to come forth with something to show of himself. His small plant was nothing similar to the bragging rights her mother would have given, but she was his creation regardless, and therefore he would show her off.
Mr. and Mrs. Green proudly showcased their hybrid lily in the lab of the botanical gardens. It wasn't long before an overtly curious Lascella found her way in to the lab after hours. She was an intern part time while completing her studies and had swiped a badge the night before so she could view the new plant hybrid before her classmates.
As she walked in, she was filled with a major disappointment in viewing the lackluster plant. She spoke out loud to herself, "What on earth were they saying was so ingenious about this plant? Its an ugly, black bush. What a waste of my energy." She stared at the plant for a moment before seeing a slight movement.
"Am I seeing something or did you just move, little fella?" As Lascella spoke, A thorny vine reached out from under the leaves, pricking her wrist as it tightened its grip, wrapping around her like a boa constrictor. As she began to suffocate slowly, bleeding all over from the thorns in her skin, the last thing she saw was the bright, white light in the ceiling as she whispered, "so this is what it feels like to die, white light and all."
WHITE. The color of dying.
The small lily bush had unintentionally hurt Lascella in her first attempt to save humans. She knew what Dr. Green was attempting, but this was her way of saving their future, she had her own plan. This small lily bush was of course, Awenasa.
Awenasa used the stolen keycard to open the door, carrying an unconscious Lascella with her. She reached herself deep in to the Earth, encasing Lascella in herself, in her own body. Her mind reached out to Lascella, she wanted to comfort her, guide her and tell her she would be reborn again as her own. She knew it would take time, but plants like Awenasa have no concept of time, other than the sun rising and falling. Awenasa was still so young, not strong enough to evolve Lascella quick enough, but she would be safe inside her little budding time capsule, changing ever so slowly. She ripped Lascella from herself, hiding their connection deep underground, reaching out over time to her when she had enough strength.
Awenasa was put through her own brand of torture as Dr. Green continued his experiments. He found her hidden buds, and continued the same type of experiements he had done on her mother, but instead of dying in her own grief, she lived on, knowing Lascella was depending on her. Time and time again, Dr. Green lost his temper after his implantations failed on Awenasa. Little did he know, she was very capable of carrying a human, just not the infants he was wanting from her.
Awenasa had finally reached her wits end with playing the feeble lily bush. She wanted to be a strong tree like her mother, growing out in her full potential, but she had to make sure Dr. Green was no longer an issue, and she really wanted to save more than just poor Lascella. Allowing herself to finally produce a large bud visible for everyone to see, Dr. Green was ecstatic and he thought he was finally going to have his plant hybrid baby.
It was announced he had a new display, and the big reveal was coming up. He nourished Awenasa like she was a newborn again, giving her all the love he could. Dr. Green was hoping her giant Lily bud was containing his newest creation. What really was happening, is Awenasa had allowed herself to produce seeds, enough to save many people when the time was right. She wasn't, however, planning on a young adult coming in, busting her beautiful seeds everywhere.
In storms my clumsy self, knocking in to her precious lily bud and spilling her seeds everywhere. Did I mention how weird it is to see oneself from a third person's viewpoint? I had no clue at the time that the new experiment was an intelligent life force trying to save the human race, nor that I had started a chain reaction that would take us to where we are today. What Awenasa was not showing me, was that I was not the only one her seeds had encompassed that day. I was still in the dark, or should I say light, because here comes the flash of white as I am brought back to the present, sitting in Mr. plant prince's lap.
WHITE. The color of my now, partial knowledge.