Trials

Prologue

“Make no mistake,” the speaker said resolutely, “with this technology and your continued investment, we could terraform an entire planet!” The audience erupted in applause, and the attractive female scientist smiled widely behind her podium. After years of research on volcano fields and at the bottom of the ocean, she was finally getting her big break. Jillian looked over to three older gentlemen in light gray three button suits seated to her right. These were the corporate drones funding her research and Jillian was convinced that not one of them ever once had an original thought. They clapped and smiled. One gave her an approving nod, and she turned back to the crowd of eager donors.

“Now that I’ve explained my research behind the concept, I want to show you the progress we have already made in this exciting new field and the direction we are going.” Jillian stepped to the side and gripped a thin silver remote in her palm. Clearing her throat, she looked to the back of the room and asked the audiovisual crew to dim the lights. Instantly, the auditorium was dark, and the image of a plant appeared on the screen. The plant was tall, with a sturdy green stock and large green leaves that stretched upward and then bowed to the ground under its own weight. Judging from the slide, the plant was approximately five feet tall, but more peculiar than that, the picture captured a faint green glow emitting from the leaves themselves.

“This is a kelp and corn hybrid infused with the genetic makeup of bacteria that lives on the ocean floor. Rather than require water, it feeds almost entirely on sulfur and still generates oxygen, not from photosynthesis, but from a direct reaction to carbon dioxide. You may notice the green glow on the slide. This isn’t bad camera work;” Jillian said with a smile, to chuckles in the audience, “the green glow is actually a reaction from bacteria that are living on the leaf in a symbiotic manner. These bacteria are actually generating luminescence as a result of a chemical reaction. But more importantly, the light they emit actually contains enough energy to provide a photosynthetic process for the remaining plants, and that is what we will address here. In other words”, Jillian paused dramatically, “we’ve created a much weaker version of the sun!”

Flipping the slide, Jillian revealed a photo of red and green algae. “This algae feeds on iron as a result of genetic modification. Again, the byproduct is oxygen. You’ll notice that while this algae doesn’t emit a green light, it is happy to absorb the light which enables its own photosynthesis to take place. In this sense, the algae and the plants have a symbiotic relationship and contribute holistically to their environment. I hope you can see how we’ve really built a self-sustaining ecosystem for the harshest of places!”