In the late 1700s, there was a gardener who lived in Greece.
This gardener lived alone on a large lot of farmland, that was previously owned by his father-in-law. Neighbors and other nosy neighbors would often look at him as a widowed old man: withering away in the remnants of his wife's land, for no reason or purpose. His wife had died long before he came to Athens, Greece, leaving him with the lot of land that his wife's father entrusted on him.
One day, he decided to visit a friend. This friend of his never came out of his house, only coming out at midnight to shop for groceries at the supermarket. His friend was youthful, possessing soft, ample skin, and unruly hair. When he came over to his friend's house, he was surprised to see that he left his home, with a basket of what looked to be rose seeds in the front door.
" Hmm... I wonder if I can make some buisness out of those seeds, eh?" The old man wondered, as he stole the basket. Inside the basket was a note of instructions. However, these instructions... Well, they seemed strange.
All these instructions included only ways to prevent the common fungus in plants (tomatoes and such) called, Blight. Blight is the rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then the death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. The farmer was rather confused, not because he already knew what this blight disease was, but, because of the rather long and excruciating list that his friend handed to him:
Botrytis Blight: (list)
Symptoms:
1) Beware of the "bulls" eye pattern.
2) High temperatures (80-85 degrees Fahrenheit) and wet, humid conditions promote its rapid spread.
3) Decaying tissue is often covered by the dark fuzz.
4) Roses infected by Botrytis develop dark splotches on the canes and suffer twig dieback.
5) Beware the humidity!!
But oddly enough, it looked like his friend didn't know much about symptoms... And it also turns out the rest of the list was blank. And the reason why there were exclamation marks after the fifth bullet point- after humidity- remained suspicious to the man. And at the end of the long list was the stamped words: ALSO BEWARE THE SPOROTHRIX SCHENCKII!! And was stained in musty blood. Now, the gardener didn't find any of this strange because he already found his friend odd enough.
*****
Shortly after planting the rose seeds, the gardener found out that these flowers were specifically yellow rose seeds. Though, this didn't seem so strange to the gardener, as there are plenty of roses that are of different variations. Through night and day, the gardener worked hard to plant all the seeds in order to obtain profit, for winter was coming. " I'm not going to make it!" He cried, as he wondered if all his efforts would come to waste. In tears, he trembled in the icy autumn air, staring among the seeds covered by leaves that started to fall on his hard work.
It has been nine months since he's planted these roses. Within this time frame, he's spent so much effort in watering and fertilizing the dirt that these seeds are buried under. And yet, the seeds didn't grow into sprouts, let alone flowers.
Disappointed, the gardener thought, ' Is this karma that I stole these seeds for my own benefit? But no... He even included a list? But... Was it even for me?'
No. In fact, these seeds were in fact for him.
And little did the gardener know: that his friend wasn't human.
And those seeds were growing: underground.
*****
Rewinding to seven hours ago, his friend was supposed to give the gardener the rose seeds to the gardener, but instead, he gave him something so much more terrible.
As it turns out, three weeks later, the gardener is found dead for unknown reasons.
And a few others are found dead also, for unknown reasons.
Those who found the gardener, saw that his roses did in fact bloom: but they looked to be infected by the Botrytis Blight disease, common of dead roses. But, what was more strange was that when they found the gardner's body, he had acquired the same infection as the roses: but in his brain. His whole body has shrunken, and his eyes weren't there.
And no one knows why.
Some say that the gardener was possessed, or attacked by a demon. Some say that he was injected by something that caused his body to react to it in that way. But, then again... The others who were found dead also, look like how normal dead people appear.
And, because of lack of knowledge at the time, his case remains unanswered by the police, detectives, and case studies for ages.
This History of what many philosophers call "the Blight disease" is a rapid terminal disease that can be detected as the shrinking of blood cells and un-protection of the white immunity cells, as the new cells from the virus kill them off.
The old fable of the 1700s gardener, Patrick Ivanov-as it is revealed after future studies- is actually found dead in Moscow, Russia (Soviet Union) from pictures taken by an old widow near the area at the time in the rural suburbs outside of Moscow.
Now, what is strange about this whole situation is that Patrick Ivanov was found dead in both Moscow and in Greece. And, this could be because this whole scenario is a misconception... But really: one of these bodies couldn't be the real Ivanov.
Maybe a clone.
But, how did he clone himself exactly?
No really what possessed him to do that?
A strange widow from Moscow took the pictures of Ivanov. When asked by authorities if he happened to know the man: she said that he was her son.
" Are you sure, ma'am?" The authorities had asked her, thinking she had gone mad.
" Yes, he's my son! And, that mishap about him being in Greece... Well, he only went there for vacation." She responded, scratching her head in worry.
" Vacation?"
"Yes, a vacation to Greece. He came back shortly after."
The authorities, upon receiving that answer, where baffled by the response. They found the widow to be mad and insane. So, they left the case, and wondered if this was all just an illusion.