Negative Energy

Housewarming Gift

The rest of the day passed in a blur as Matt whizzed through a score of hands-on tutorials. He had just completed a lesson on the circadian rhythm of the solar forest when Logos reappeared. With a twitch of his fingers, the MAGI collapsed the Mesch into an orb the size of a billiard ball and slipped it into the inner pocket of his white sports coat.

"That's enough training for today," Logos said. It was just after seven in the evening. "A good night's rest will help you consolidate what you've learned. Also, there is someone at the door to see you."

It was Ina. She was dressed in a tawny unitard that accentuated her curves and harmonized with the colors of her hair: bronze, scarlet, and royal purple. She held up a potted plant. The outer petals were delicate as blown glass, but the tongue-like petal at its center was warm and fleshy, even a bit obscene-looking.

"It's my latest orchid gem," she said with pride.

"It's quite a remarkable flower," Matt agreed.

"GeM stands for genetically modified. I incorporated traits from another plant, I bet you'll never guess which one. Here's a hint: look at the spikes on the edge of the petals. Natural orchids don't have those. Remind you of anything? No? Second hint: touch it there on the forward, bib-shaped part. That's called the labellum, or lip."

Matt reached out. When his finger grazed a tiny hair, the outer petals folded together, their spikes interlocking like the bars of a cage. "A Venus fly trap?" he said, impressed.

Ina's face lit up. "Pretty amazing, huh? I almost gave up on it at the twelve-week mark. Waiting is the hardest part. You spend all this time designing the perfect GeM, and you never know if it's going to turn out until months later when the first bloom appears. This one bloomed just a couple days before you arrived. You must be good luck." She held it out to him. "Here, I want you to have it. Consider it a housewarming gift."

Matt was taken aback to be offered something so valuable, but he thought it would be rude to decline. "I would be honored," he said. Too formal?

"You shouldn't be so quick to accept," replied Ina. "Becoming an orchid parent is a big responsibility. They're very needy and temperamental. I'll have to teach you how to take care of it."

"I can just quest—"

"No, you mustn't!" she said vehemently, then quickly apologized. "Sorry, I can get a bit protective of my GeMs. It's just that it's one of a kind, and no one else knows it like I do. You should set a mental block so you don't quest it on accident."

"Okay," Matt agreed. "So what do I do?"

"It needs a cozy, well-lit spot. Maybe you can suggest some place better suited than the hallway?"

"Oh, right," Matt blushed. "Want to come in?" He ushered her into the sunroom and found a prime location above the counter that separated it from the kitchenette. "How about here? I hope it does fine with artificial sunlight. There seems to be a moratorium on windows. But the view is first rate." The front wall was displaying a postcard-worthy sunset.

"I never understood that term 'artificial light,'" Ina said. "Light is always true and constant. Einstein proved that. But you'll need to adjust the room's ambience to a sunlight-equivalent spectrum on a tropical circadian with seasonal cloud cover, just like its native Amazonian rain forest."

Matt found himself warming to the conversation. "Wow. I didn't realize I would be rearranging my entire lifestyle to accommodate a plant."

"We're just getting started. Let me tell you about the watering regime." Ina spent the next twenty minutes instructing him on the orchid's proper care and handling. "No cheats. No mental reminders or neural playback. Taking care of an orchid is an act of devotion."