A[U]CTOR

The branch

Sci Fi

He works cutting branches of the trees and he is good at it.
He knows how to climb, to hold on, and use the saw, any kind of saw.
He's been working on this for fifteen years and he's certain that nothing can surprise him in this matter.
However, that particular branch is not like any other branch is not like any other and when he cuts it, a strange blue liquid starts popping out.

_

Carlos Tijeras was the best gardener and wood cutter in his region. When he got hired to cut down the abandoned trees in an abandoned park in Nolybab, he took the job.

He arrived to the abandoned site with his truck, he brought a ladder that could reach up to three stories and placed unto the tree, he started climbing up with a backpack full of tools slung to his arm.
With fifteen years of experience, he had seen many things that no one would expect in his profession and he's certain that nothing can surprise him in this matter.
However, that particular branch is not like any other branch is not like any other and when he cuts it, a strange blue liquid starts popping out.

He was baffled, how could someone design such a realistic looking tree?

It felt realistic, too realistic for his liking. The root, the bark, the branches, even the texture of the leaves felt realistic.

If he reported this to the Ecology Protecion Organization, the landowners would get sent to jail for environmental hazard and negligence with a 35 years sentence without parole.

"What is this thing made of?" He asked, regarding the blue liquid.

Outside of Nolybab, Julia brought a sample of the blue liquid to Olyn, an roboticist and engineer.

"What is it?" Julia asked him.

"Chemical XY-2. A dangerous component that can affect the neurotransmitter. Is more lethal than any other drug fabricated by man. One small dose can kill you." Olyn explained.

Carlos made the foolish mistake to inhale the blue liquid and started convulsing.

"Three drops of the liquid can cause seizures and hallucinations, it shouldn't be consumed by organic beings. This component is used to clean acidic mechanery, and is a hazard to human health if not used correctly." Olyn continued to explain as Carlos was having hallucinations, memories mingled with nightmarish creatures before his body plummeted to the ground, his life flashing before his eyes.

Splat.

His head bleeding out as the life of his eyes faded. Lifeless.

Days have passed and the contractor had not received a response from Tijeras in days. He sent one of his employees to check if the wood cutter finished the job.

When the man arrived to the abandoned park, as he went around the site his nostrils picked up a fowl odor. He pinched his nose to block the stench and gagged.

"Oh god! What is that?" He shouted in a masally voice as he looked to find the truck in the corner of his eye.

When peered around the truch he saw the three story ladder stacked over the green truck. As he came walked closer, he saw the rotting corpse decompose with flies hovering around it. The employee took a picture on his mobile device and sent him to his superior, with a text attached to it that said: Found him.

The police filed the papers of the defunct with his personal information.

Name: Carlos J. Tijeras Nevares
Age: 39
DOB: 6/12/20XX
Ethnicity: Mexican

The possessions that the defunct had were his wallet full of credit cards, his gardening tools, a smartphone, a ladder, and a green truck that had the license plate with capital letters titled GREEN-1.

The forensics performed an autopsy on the corpse. They opened him up and the first thing that the forensics noticed was that the liver and intenstines turned into a grayish-purple color and the veins turned into a blueish-purple hue. It may seem common in a decomposed corpse, but one thing is undeniable from the victims that came in contact with the XY-2 component of the blue liquid found was that the blood clots had been crystallized in a purplish-blue hue. Having the density of a shiny pebble.

The same crystallized pebble was brought into Olyn's lab for further testing. It had a similar luminescent component as Radium, though in its liquid form it was similar to mercury, yet it had the blue component that looked eerily similar to cobalt chloride. Nonetheless, this foreign substance was used to clean the acidic residue of advanced machinery though mankind has a bad habit for abusing the product and deviate it from it's original purpose.

"Well this is new." Julia commented, looking at the crystallized blue compound while the young engineer held in his gloved hand.

"This crystallized cobalt copy was found inside the veins of the victim." Olyn informed.

"So is like a blue blood clot." She started.
"With the hardness of a kidney stone." He finished as he put the hardened chemical on the metal table.

"I've been thinking and this whole thing reminds me of the time that I found out that I had green blood." She recalled the time that she was just a mechanic that worked in a rural area in her workshop. At first she thought that the green liquid came from the leaky fuel engine of the green truck she had. Along with Speedy's screw jingle brought her memories. Too bad those days were long gone.

"This actually different, the blue ooze that was found actually came from an artificially-crafted tree, along with the ooze made the function of the tree seem realistic." Olyn pointed.

"So is not some elaborate projection, but a real roboticized tree." Julia commented.

"Exactly. In its liquid form, the blue ooze has a similar viscousity as molasses. In it's pulverized form, it's used as a drug mainly used for regulating the serotonin, along with morphine can be used as a potent sedative. In it's liquid form is a deadly toxin for organic matter, and it's crystallized form." Olyn walked to the end of the room to turn off the switch. The XY-2 crystal glowed before he turned on the light again.

"The wonder drug of Nolybab." Julia stated.