The Blue Orchid Years

Chapter 18: Finding One's True Sparks

December 14th 2626, 10:00 A.M.

Black Elm. It felt good to be back on my home planet, even if I landed on the side I was unfamiliar with. There was an old phrase that "you can't go home again" but frankly I never understood what it meant. As far as I was concerned, you could go home numerous times even if your home had changed from the last time you were there and was no longer the way you remember it to be. In my case, home stayed the same but I was just seeing it from another angle.

For the duration of our extended stay, our professors had divided us into three groups: one to study seahorse bone structure and morphology, one to study parasites that attack seahorses, and one to study the role of plankton and algae in the food chain seahorses are in. By sheer dumb luck, Moira and I were put on the third team, along with Tony. Our first assignment was to go to a facility where many different types of algae were grown. We were supposed to talk to a researcher who our professors had trusted to guide us through the process of growing algae.

The three of us sat in silence in the waiting room before a slender lady in white lab coat greeted us. She seemed to be in her mid to late twenties and vaguely reminded me of two people in my life. I wasn't dreaming, was I? Maybe Indigo Inferno solar system really was this tiny.

"Are you guys the Blue Orchid students Prof. Gibran-Kumar has sent to learn more about cultivating algae?" she smiled at us.

"We are," Tony nodded. "What should we call you, ma'am?"

"I'm Akira Kinoya. You can call me by my first name if you like."

Kinoya? Hm. Figured.

"Are you related to Kenta?" Moira asked the question that was also on my mind.

"I'm his cousin," she replied, maintaining her cheery mannerism. "His uncle Lee is my dad."

"Really?" Moira raised an eyebrow. "I thought Lee told me his daughter studied computer science, not biochemistry."

"Aye, that was the plan," she said. "But I took a detour. It helped me feel connected to my late dad, too, now that I am a biochemist just like he was."

A detour? Now, that would be something I needed to hear for myself. Maybe she could help me get a sense of purpose. How did Akira manage to stay happy after her father's death?

"Akira," I extended a hand. "I'm Nardho and I'm sorry for your loss. If you don't mind, would you care to talk with me after our appointment is over?"

"I've heard about you and what my dad did for you," she shook my hand. "For the record, if you ever feel guilty about his death, don't. He made it clear before his passing that he was proud of everyone he mentored and wished nothing but the absolute best for you kids."

"That was nice of him," Moira chimed in.

"He was always nice," Akira agreed with a tone of reminiscence in her voice. "I understand if you guys want to know more about him and I would be happy to answer any question you have. For now, let's focus on the task at hand."

Akira led us to what seemed to me a storage or a tool shed. Upon entering it, however, it was evident that she had taken us to a mini indoor pool of sort, except it was full of algae. The smell of salt overwhelmed me but I was grateful at least it was not the smell of chlorine--that one smell could make me sick.

"Before we begin our discussion on how algae is an essential player in the oceanic food web, I would like to discuss eutrophication because it is a related concept," Akira started the lecture. "It happens when there are excess nutrients, but could you tell me what the effects of eutrophication are on the aquatic ecosystem it is found in?"