Plants vs. Progress

As I peeked through the small window outside of the room marked "LAB 206", I saw many men and women in white coats busily working. Some were filling beakers with brightly colored liquids while others were writing important data on lab sheets. In the middle of the room sat a typical looking plant. (Although I had never seen a plant in actuality, I had seen many detailed drawings and diagrams.) From time to time, scientists carefully lifted the protective casing around this plant to pluck a leaf or two from it. I took a deep breath. "Come on, you know what you need to do. Just explain that you're writing an article for the school lit magazine about what the local lab is up to," I said, giving myself a mental pep talk. I tentatively knocked on the heavy door.

It was opened immediately by a woman who appeared to be the head scientist. "Come in," she said with a bright smile. "You're from junior high 206, right? "Yes, thank you," I replied "it's so nice of you and your team to allow me to conduct this interview," I said, trying to sound more intelligent that I felt just then. "Of course," she beamed. But first you have to put on these safety goggles. Oh, gosh I've forgotten to introduce myself, I'm Dr. Ellis and you are... "Carmen" I said quickly "it's wonderful to meet you." I simultaneously got my clipboard out of my backpack and turned on my recorder.

Dr. Ellis led me all around the expansive lab, stopping every so often to offer quick explanations of the various experiments that were in progress. All of the experiments were very interesting, but my gaze continued to drift to what appeared to me to be the centerpiece of the lab: the closely protected yet seemingly ordinary plant.

"What's that?" I inquired, pointing towards the ordinary looking plant. "Oh, well that's our most prestigious project at the moment, but it's very hush hush, if you know what I mean" Dr. said. "Oh," I replied "I understand" At that moment, I made a resolution to discover just what was going on with that plant.

"Ok, well thanks for all the help," I said graciously, returning the safety goggles. "Sure, anytime." As I let myself out of the lab, my mind was already turning with plans of how to discover the secret hidden in the foliage, but for now I had to concentrate on typing up my article for the lit magazine-minus the mystery plant.

After I had written my stellar article, my mind once again drifted to my resolution to discover what was going on with that plant in lab 206. I knew I couldn't take a direct approach; the scientists wouldn't tell me anything. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I set off at a run to library 206. Although I had never left the massive City 206, I knew that there were lush, green forests beyond the city limits.

"Hi Carmen, can I help you?" asked the librarian. "Um yeah, I'm doing a project about um... forests. Do you know where I could find a map of the surrounding ones?" Of course, sweetie. You young ones are always doing some sort of project." All I could do was smile. "There right over here."

"No one comes back here very often," she commented while opening the creaking door to a small and dusty room with ancient looking books in it. "Guess they're all to busy with their own city lives to bother with some silly forest," the librarian stated indignantly. "Yes, I guess so," I replied. "Thank you."

As the librarian left, I stepped into the musty room. Where in the world do I begin? Out of the corner of my eye, I spied a book that appeared to have the first few layers of dust brushed off it. As I lifted the heavy book of the shelf, I noticed that one of its thick pages had a corner tucked in. I placed the book on the solitary table and carefully opened it to the marked page. Sure enough, it was exactly what I was looking for. Actually, it was better. It was not only a detailed map of all the forests surrounding City 206, but it also had directions from the outskirts of the city to the edge of the forest.

"Wow," I breathed "this is perfect." But, I thought, who was here before me?

Instead of attempting to lug the heavy book with me on my trek to the forest, I opted to photocopy the page I needed out of it. As I mindlessly bushed buttons on the copier, my thoughts drifted to my plans. I would have to get creative if I really wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Armed with my map, I set out for the forest. I had mixed feelings about going-I had never left the city, let alone plunged into a forest crawling with uncertain danger. After a few deep breaths, I reassured myself that everything was going to be ok; nonetheless, I felt a little bit uneasy about the whole thing.

After a few wrong turns, I finally found myself at the edge of the City. The sight that met my eyes was absolutely amazing. On one side of me was the technologically advanced society I knew to be my home. On the other side, a world completely unknown to me. "Well, here it goes," I whispered to myself as I crossed the threshold of uncertainty. At once I was enveloped with new sights, smells, and textures. The forest was so green compared to the steel-on-steel look of city 206. And it smelled so fresh and clean, totally unlike the air I was used to.

Snapping myself back from my dazed wonderment to reality, I remembered my mission. All the plants appeared to be lush, green, and healthy, but as I peered closer at various plants, they seemed to be developing peculiarly shaped brown spots. Hmm I frowned this doesn't look good. In the scientific spirit, I carefully plucked a solitary leaf from one of the plants just as I had seen the well-trained scientists back at the lab do. I carefully deposited the sample in my knapsack.

When I got back to my room, I took out the leaf. As I held it out in front of me, it struck me how something of such simple yet intricate beauty seemed horribly out of place in the clean lines, no frills world I lived in. Reflections aside, I now had to find out if my sample with the abnormal spots was at all similar to the plant in the lab.

With the darkness of night as my disguise, I departed from the apartment my parents and I shared. In my backpack, I put a set of high sensatory microphones, night vision goggles, and a voice recorder. I had just planning to sneak a peek at the plant in lab 206, but I wanted to be ready for whatever situation arose. As I neared the Lab, I observed that, in contrast to the surrounding structures, there appeared to be lights on inside it. Hmm, I thought, this is strange. Carefully monitoring my footsteps, I silently approached Lab 206. Instead of going inside the building as I had that morning, I went around to the back and up to the solitary window. Getting all my gadgets at the ready, I slowly leveled my eyes in relation to the windowsill. What I saw absolutely astounded me.

Three scientists were gathered closely around the encased plant. I could see their lips moving, but could not decipher what they were saying. That is, until I applied my microphone to the window. The conversation went something like this:

"If we don't release this plant into the wild within the week, we might as well not have created it." "Yes, yes, I know, but we have not yet studied the effect it will have on humans."

I pulled away, flabbergasted. No, this plant did not have any sort of sickly looking brown spots on it, but this short discussion between two of the scientists had told me enough.

Driven by shock, I sprinted back to my apartment. My pulse was racing, not because of the physical exertion expended in my dash back, but from what I had discovered seconds earlier.

In the morning, I headed purposefully toward Lab 206. Without hesitation, I knocked solidly on the door. Once again, Dr. Ellis answered the door. "Well, it's a surprise to see you back again so soon, Carmen," she said, her tone pleasant. "Did you have more questions about our interview yesterday?" "Um, well, sort of. I have evidence that that plant was created here and that it could have a negative effect on humans." At that very instant, a scientist lifted the protective case covering the plant. He then pulled back from the plant and proceeded to crash to the hard floor, eyes rolled back in his head.

Dr. Ellis rushed to her fallen comrade and took his pulse. "He's dead," she pronounced in a monotone voice. "he was the one who first discovered how to save the plants in the first place." Not wanting "I'll take my evidence to the press if you don't tell me what's going on," I threatened. "And now someone has died from the plant." I added.

Dr. Ellis sighed. "Obviously, you know too much for me just to tell you you're wrong and then send you home." I nodded my head. "So what exactly is going on?" I persisted.

Dr. Ellis took a deep breath and then plunged into a monologue. "A few years ago during some routine field work, my team and I discovered some brown spots on a few of the plants. Puzzled by these findings, we collected samples from the some of the plants with the brown spots and some without. Through some tests, we found that the plants with the spots contained alarming amounts of harmful chemicals produced by pollution while the normal looking plants only contained slightly high levels of the same harmful chemicals. Through extensive research, we developed a plant that counteracts the pollutants. What we still weren't sure about the effect it would have on humans, but we sure are now. In close proximity, this plant is lethal to humans. Out in the forest, it probably wouldn't be potent enough to kill anybody, but I can't prove that.

"Has it been released yet?" I asked. "No" she answered. "The City Council has to approve it first." "Oh good, that means that the plant can't cause any harm to the general public, right?"

"That question is still unanswered, but without this plant, the forest will eventually die. The disease will have spread to surrounding forests, and soon they too will be no longer. This chain reaction will result in the total and complete obliteration of all the earth's wildlife. Without healthy trees, plants, soil, and animals, the earth's supply of water and air will become unusable. Before long, planet earth will become unlivable.

"And what if the plant is put in the forest?" I inquired, my voice trembling with fear. "If the plant is kept, it would reverse the brown spots on the plants and prevent the disease from spreading any further. The bad news is that there is a possibility that humans could become very sick or die from exposure to its radiation." Dr. Ellis told me.

"So were just supposed to leave fate up to the people of City 206?" I cried as the magnitude of the situation hit me like two tons of bricks. "Yes" whispered Dr. Ellis. "My part is done, now it is your turn."

The End