The Industrialist

***

At first, the applause was surprising, he repaid them with his authentic gesture. The man exchanged handshakes, tapped on the shoulders, and exchanged hugs. He hugged the ones closest to his heart.

The ones who worked closely with Project Nightfall.

"Speech! Speech!" A few of them said.

He doesn’t like speeches. It would bring bitter memories. Back in the city, at the peak of his career, he was used to the spotlight, talking in front of many. But now it had become traumatic. Anyhow, traditionally, he should deliver a speech.

"Folks. My co-professionals," he started with a soft voice, "I am new to this community and I am new to this drive. But truthfully, even for a few months, it was the most fulfilling months of my life!"

The cheers grew louder and he paused for a while. He let the cheers subsided and he continued again.

"All of you, you saved me. You save me from my despair, you save me from regaining my memories," The man glanced at the Psychologist, "and you give me happiness that I never had before since I left the City. Your purpose is my purpose now, and I will contribute my very best to regain what’s ours. A renewed Earth!"

The applause came louder.

"A renewed Earth!" The Majority rejoiced.

His statements had pauses that a crowd would listen to. It was a strategy for good speakers like him or rather, his respites, to mask his hurtful feelings for the warm surprise he had received.

The man was obligated to say the words, the encouraging statements, but he never revealed his fear. He smiled instead and showered words of optimism.

"Let’s proceed, Doctor!" Nina ushered him to the lab after a series of transparent walls that held various scientific labs.

A translucent curtain, reaching unto the high ceiling of the dome, opened automatically and revealed a wide expanse of a greenhouse effect. The refracted light streaked through, fingering its way to the gaps of trusses in between panels of glass. The light came from the sun and through the translucent roofing of the dome.

But it was not brighter as the sun was high, as it almost completely retreated towards the black horizon. A fraction of it still showered its rays to the peaks of the mountain.

The Dome was designed by a Civil Engineer among their ranks. Efficient way of utilizing construction materials, as one would assess. It was made of concrete to hold the structure’s integrity, but also tempered glass and wood.

Wood.

It was the first ever that the newly recruited man had seen; wood used for construction. The Civil Engineer was hailed the best among a throng of Civil Engineer professionals and aspirants.

The workers under him such as his foreman, were also the best strategists in presenting alternative ways to efficiently arrive the desirable outcomes with the available materials. Frugality at its best reflected the dome’s structure.

All of them, in the dome, were the best among the best.

The man too, an Electronic Tier, considered himself the best among his colleagues. In the Dome, he was a hero. In the City, he was a traitor.

The drive they had been working on for years translated within the covers of large translucent curtains, below the transparent ceilings, and with the proper care of Nina, the assistant Botanist.

A plant nursery.

The man ambled to a wide table to where the successful experiment transpired. Three professionals were at his back as the man inspected the specimen. One of them was the Geneticists.

It was a meter high Mango seedling, all were artificially grown by DNA reconstruction. Below the seedling was a seedbed filled with dark brown soil. On the sides of the table were robotic arms, four of them, hovering around the specimen and being controlled by the scientists.

The Mango Tree seedling, as their experiment as asexual propagation, was grafted to a reprogrammed organic DNA at its base.

"Organic tissues stabilized well with cybernetic material," One scientist said. "You calculations are correct, Doctor."

The man nodded in agreement.

The man trained his fingers delicately to the intricate combination of a cybernetic material embedded in its metallic forms in the trunk and the roots.

"They are synchronizing, we managed to stabilize the DNA fusion," The man said as he closely inspected the abnormalities. There was none. No seeping of tree sap. No burned discoloration of barks. No scion destruction. The Masterwork-level metals were the key to his experiment.

Everything seemed normal. His heart was pounding.

"Ok, commence Electricity induction," the man said.

One scientist turned the knob and the whirring of smooth equipment hums emerged from the bottom of the table. The cybernetic-infused material glowed as a jolt of amperage passed on them.

The roots expanded below the soil, perceptible by the movement below the seed bed. The plant grew gradually. For 10 seconds, it grew 10% of its growth as they measured it.

"Full charge capacity. Hit it," the man said again.

The equipment below hummed again, louder this time and the plant grew at an increased rate. Branches from the sides of the trunks emerged like thorns. The trunk turned its color to bluish, almost perceptible veins of electricity sinuously winding the surface of the seedling’s bark.

The humming continued and so as the seedling’s growth. For over a minute, it doubled its height and its branch span had tripled. The trunk looked mature like bonsais, but bigger.

"Continue charging," the man said again, his voice overpowering the humming machine.

"Doctor, the charge won’t hold," the scientist contested.

The Dome lights flickered in the process. Everybody in the building witnessed closely as the experiment progressed.

The seedbed started to crack and the roots crawled out from the table like live snakes. The outcropping now became larger than the tree itself.

Such happenstance was expected by the man who conducted the experiment. The roots grew faster as to where his cybernetic infusion core was in place. It should be in the roots to hasten the absorption of nutrients to support the accelerated growth of the tree.

The mango tree tripled its size for about 3 minutes and the source of the charge had surrendered. The humming was discontinued and the growth halted.

There was silence. Others were waiting if the project was a success or not.

The man was silent too.

Then, right before they were disheartened, flowers sprung along the branches, almost replacing the number of leaves with yellowish flowers. The petals bloomed right away as if they were moving on their own. Fragrant scents were released filling the room with an unfamiliar aroma.

As they bloomed, fruits sprouted at the flower’s ovaries and their growth was accelerated too, until its full maturity.

Then the awes from the crowd grew. As if they were witnessing a miracle in progress.

’Even without the charge, it was still bearing fruit?’ The man was perturbed.

It was the first time he witnessed a plant bearing fruit for less than 5 minutes.

"Status?" The man asked the scientist who conducted the monitoring.

"The charge is at 0% and the tree is at its 60% full growth. That’s below 5 minutes of injecting electric current. We need a bigger and stronger battery to support the full growth of the plants. We need power."

The man nodded.

"We needed a Masterwork level Ultragenerator" the man replied.

"What is it, Doctor?" It was Nina who asked.

"An infused Electromagnetic Battery, partnered with an Energy Accelerator," the man responded.

"Where can we get one?"

"He will MAKE one for us," Erik replied.