Chip huffed. Two more quadrants of the conservatory and it will be clean like never before. He hope. Whatever happened yesterday, it was enough to topple most of the plants and scatter the fertilizers and dirt. Most of the vegetables got uprooted and they needed to be healed in the Bio-tank before they could be planted again. Ray was bummed about it. The plants were supposed to be harvested this weekend and he’s planning on cooking a vegetable stew for everyone.
With the last of dirt swept in the vegetable quadrant, Chip moved on to the last where the fruits are planted. It wasn’t as destroyed as the previous three. Most of the plants he brought have sturdy stems and even stronger roots. There’s also a small tree at the back corner of the quadrant where Pine Mangoes are growing. Chip went where the tree is and then he saw something amiss. The tree was gone. In its place was a thick mass of vines with an overgrowth of polyps. They seem to be emanating a faint yellow glow and a slight humming tune. In all his studies, Chip hasn’t seen a plant like this before. And he finished two post-graduates in Botany. He studied the leaves, the venations, and the shape of its edges. There are flowers but they are small and hidden within the foliage. And in its trunk, Chip could feel a slow beat. A rhythmic thump. One. Two. Rest. One. Two. Rest. Chip laid his ear by the bark and he could hear the beat mix with the slight hum inside.
“Is that a heartbeat?” Chip thought.
This whole tree is strange. He couldn’t even pinpoint what family this tree belongs too. And he’s even debating whether this is a tree at all.
Chip brushed the vines aside and went deeper into the overgrowth of vines. He doesn’t need light at the yellow polyps are bright enough to discern what’s inside. On the other side of the trunk was a strange growth that buries deep into the heartwood of the tree. It’s like a glass bowl for goldfishes and when you peer inside, you can see the throbbing innards of the tree. And by now, Chip was sure that this is no tree. The inside is a mass of flesh with no discernible organs belonging to any animal Chip knows. Above the glass globe is a squarish flesh where the source of the beating is. Chip caressed the glass surface and from there, he saw the reflection behind him. A vine unlike no other. It’s shaped like an umbrella, whose opening is as large as his head. The inside is a smooth yellow surface with rings of glowing polyps. Chip looked around and found that there are no vines like this.
This is weird. And nothing from his array of botanical knowledge can give any explanation from what this thing is. He needs help. He rushed out of the Conservatory and went to…?