The flowers had come from the sky. Their seeds fell to the ground during the snows of winter. No one knew they were there, taking root in the ground, until the spring, when strange plants broke through the ground.
Those plants were not native to the planet. Sir Hortus the 347th had asked the Artificial Intelligence what they were. The AI had never observed them on the surface of the planet before. It classified them as an invasive species.
“You must remove them from the ground.”
Sir Hortus knew his job well.
“Are they conventional plants?”
“Further clarification needed.”
“Do they reproduce like normal plants?”
“It appears they do.”
Upon learning this, Sir Hortus knew what had to be done. He ordered the Assembly Line to produce the air tight jars. He specified each jar had to be 80 centimeters tall, shaped like the bloom of a bell flower, with an extended rim that would sink 20 centimeters into the ground.
The shape didn’t really matter, but Sir Hortus found he liked the shape of bell flowers. “If I have to look at several hundred of them, I may as well make them worth looking at.”
The Assembly Line had completed his order, 3D printed all 326 air tight bell flowers, and delivered them to Sir Hortus the 347th’s garden by dawn of the next day.
Sir Hortus spent the day installing the bell flowers. One bell flower each to the invading plants. The bell flowers cut them off from pollination, and from the mechanical Bee swarm that pollinated the plants. The AI had designed the bee swarm centuries earlier, when humans had managed to kill off the bees of the planet.
Sir Hortus knew from the AI’s instructions the bell flowers should strangle the life out of the invasive plants, restoring the garden to its natural state. But, it did mean the garden would be put in quarantine until the AI had verified the garden was clean. That would not happen for at least 12 months. The AI had to inventory all the plants that broke the ground in the spring, thus verifying the invaders were no more.
He did not finish setting the bell flowers in place until after sunset. He had to admit, for a garden that was sick, and under quarantine, it looked surprisingly good. “I like the bell flowers.”
The AI had answered back, “It was a good decision. We can market the story of the plant invasion to obtain funds from the central AI to maintain the garden, and observe the invasive plants.”
Sir Hortus knew the plants would die inside the bell flowers. It was how it had to be to restore the garden to its natural state. A state all the AIs worked hard to restore, and maintain, after the destruction the humans had caused.
“If all goes well, and the garden is restored, the central AI indicates there will be a new plant recovered from DNA found in a dig not too far from here.”
Sir Hortus nodded. “That would be a gift to the garden. And it would be an honor to restore a new species to the planet.”
The AI responded, “Eventually, we will restore the plants the humans destroyed, and finish healing the biosphere. Until then, Sir Hortus the 347th, you are to continue your work in the garden. And when your time expires, the 348th will be installed.”
“How is the 348th developing?”
“The clone process was a success. It will take time for the clone to develop, but it will be ready to replace you when the time comes.”
Sir Hortus nodded. That night, he stood on the porch of his cottage, and stared at the bell flowers, as they glinted in the starlight. “I like bell flowers.”
A bunch of words
@mysoulstears
Written for Week 278 of Miranda Kate‘s Mid-Week Challenge. You can learn about Miranda’s challenge here. The stories people share for the weekly challenge are always little works of art, crafted with words, meant to be shared, and enjoyed. Please go read them.
My Soul's Tears 