Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10
”The plants are looking really great, Hannah. I think they are even healthier since you started working here!” Andromeda gives me a wide grin. I fake one back.
”Thanks! I love working with them, plants are really great. So patient. And they just keep growing, I don’t think there is much I could do wrong.”
”Oh, there is!” Now she laughs. ”I was on greenhouse duty once and let me tell you, I almost ruined the harvest for the whole year. That they let me come back in here is a miracle. I was probably only allowed to return because I am under your supervision!”
I act like I think that’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard but internally, I’m rolling my eyes. I know exactly that Andromeda is great with plants. She has orchids in her room. Freaking orchids! Even back on Earth, those flowers were comparably hard to care for. But here she is, telling me how great I’m doing. I think she’s still feeling guilty and trying to make up for what happened. She doesn’t know that it’s too little, too late.
”I’ve been working on a new project”, I tell her, lowering my voice as if it’s a great secret.
”Oh?” She looks intrigued. ”What is it?”
”Let me show you.” I take her hand and lead her to a spot in the greenhouse that had been given to me as my 16th birthday present. Tiny trees are growing on it and they all carry bright green apples.
”I created those”, I explain. ”They’re way tastier and a lot more nutritional than the other apples growing here. And they grow a lot faster!” The first part is a lie but I’m not telling her that. Her eyes light up.
”So that’s the reason you have spent so much time in the genetics lab! Dr. Mashram was very excited about giving you so many lessons, you must have been quite the enthusiastic student!”
”Yes, genetics is fun! And I really wanted to contribute to our little society. That’s why I brought you here, I have a request.”
”Go ahead”, Andromeda says and looks at me, waiting for what I want to tell her.
”You know it’s my birthday this week, right?”
”Right! You turn 17! Almost an adult now.” She playfully punches me in the shoulder.
”Yes, exactly. And it’s also almost 2 years now that I joined you here. So that’s a reason to celebrate, isn’t it?”
”Absolutely. What do you have in mind?”
”Well, I wanted to introduce everyone to my new apples. I’m sure they’re going to love them! I want to bake some apple pie but I’d need your help to make such a huge amount of pies. You’d also need to help me prepare the party, I want everyone to attend so we need a lot of space.”
”Done! It will be the greatest party ever.”
”I’m sure it will be.”
During the following days, Andromeda and I prepare for the big party. Baking all the apples into pies takes forever but some of the cooks help us. Several times I have to ask someone not to try one of these apples. Despite their protests, I strictly stick to this policy.
”I want everyone to experience these apples for the first time together” I explain at several occasions. They all follow my wishes. Begrudgingly, but they do. And finally, after much preparation, the big day is here.
Everyone is assembled in the biggest hall the station has. In front of each person stands a huge slice of my special apple pie. They’re all waiting for me to give the signal to eat.
”Thank you all for coming!” I greet everyone. ”It’s been almost 2 years since I joined this wonderful family. I am truly thankful that you decided to take me in and make me a part of all this. I’ve done my best to be a valuable member of this society. Today is my birthday but instead of expecting gifts, I wanted to give all of you a gift. Pie made from my special apples. I hope you all love it as much as I do! Let’s eat!”
Applause. Then, everybody grabs their forks and starts eating. While they chew, I watch their faces. It’s clear that they like their pie but are a bit disappointed. They expected something more special than a slightly sour apple. But they’re too polite to complain. It’s a nice pie after all.
I wait and watch. They finish their pie. Other food that has been prepared for the party follows music plays. But I don’t touch any of the food offered to me. I just watch.
Suddenly, a man jumps up and clutches his throat. Desperately gasping for air he tries to call for help. But the people trying to rush to his aid quickly develop the same symptoms. In only a few moments, everyone is lying on the floor. Except for me.
Time for my second speech.
”While I now look at you all, dying”, I begin, ”I realize that I should have done this much sooner. But it was complicated, you know? I couldn’t just flood your station with carbon monoxide like you did with mine. I needed something else.
You’re probably aware of the tiny amounts of amygdalin usually found in apple seeds. Chewing the seeds from one single apple is usually not dangerous. But I genetically altered the apples I fed you. The amygdalin is spread through the whole apple and that in concentrations absolutely deadly for humans. Every single one of you is now dying of cyanide poisoning because that’s what your body turns the amygdalin into.”
A hand grabs me by my pants. It’s Andromeda.
”Please”, she wheezes. ”We’re your family.”
”No”, I say. ”My family is dead. And you killed everybody else connected to them and me. You killed them by depriving them of oxygen and now I’m doing the same for you. It’s a different mechanism than with the carbon monoxide but the cyanide cuts off the oxygen supply to your cells. Fascinating, isn’t it? Killed by a plant you thought was safe. Just as my whole crew was killed by people they thought were safe.”
”Please …” She falls unconscious.
My eyes wander around the room filled with bodies and dying people.
”It’s over”, I whisper. ”I finally got revenge.”
I am the last human on Mars. And soon, there won’t be any humans on Mars anymore. It’s better that way.
References:
Cyanide in fruit seeds: how dangerous is an apple?
Pattern of the Cyanide-Potential in Developing Fruits
Here’s How Many Apple Cores It Would Take to Poison You
Got a scientific topic which you want to see as a story? Leave me a comment!
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Beautiful fruit. And lovely. Am loving the taste already @suesa .thanks
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first i thought you were talking about farming apples and as i continue reading it became clear its a fiction story, you know how to keep someone glued to your post, love the fiction tale.... let me check the other articles that led to this
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You write very well hopefully this paper gets upvote that there is and redeem everyone. so your position is quickly upgraded. Keep working, I faithfully wait for the next post @suesa
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Hi @suesa congratulations on writing such a great series of story. I must say your writing skills are world class. Please keep writing for steemian community. Thanks!
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Congratulations @suesa!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:
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Beautiful fruit. And lovely. Am loving the taste already @suesa . please upvote my comment
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Spam comments only get you flags.
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Conclusion of this series: damned humans...
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Absolutely. Humans suck. But I guess that's the conclusion of all my stories..
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Not only your stories... unfortunately :(
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Am I the only one who expected a Rick & Morty gag? 😭
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You're the only one who commented on the reference :P
Sorry to disappoint you :(
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I got it!
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What an incredible story. I really love your writing style. Though at one point the end looked pretty obvious, still i love the way it ended. Great job!
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Writing a surprising ending without making it unrealistic can be tricky :P
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Most likely we will be end of ourselves. Our destructive tendencies are just way too strong.
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Oh hello!
let me see if I got it straight, people picks a scientific topic and you create a whole story about it ?
If is that so, That's so awesome !!!
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Well, it needs to be a topic that can actually be turned into a story, some topics are too vague or way out of my field of knowledge. Not many people suggest something and only a handful of topics are usable.
But! There are several stories based on topics people suggested so yes, I do that :)
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That's something really cool and unique I've seen here on steemit, congratulation for the amazing Idea and creativity!
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Yes, this is great and something that no one else is doing at Steemit or on any other social media as far as I know and I'm very active at least on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, YouTube and LinkedIn. Keep it up @suesa and let the world know more about your talent. Good luck!
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uhh, really dark @suesa... I like it! She is after all only 17 and death and destruction is all that she has experienced, so that is a fair enough ending...
This got me thinking though... there is a lot of genetic modification going on in food so could a wild strain cross with a GMO to create a deadly product? Could this then self seed and travel like recent GMO crops in the US so it keeps popping up killing wildlife and possible unaware humans?
Also really good point about pollinators... and resources... how many resources would have to be shipped in, to terraform Mars vs. how much could be extracted and processed there... Again plenty of food for thought so thanks! Keep it up. Upvoted and reesteemed.
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GMOs are usually throughly tested before being allowed on the open market. In many cases they're also sterilized so exactly what you described won't happen.
Sure, it's not 100% foolproof but neither is nature itself. Mutation is random and happens all the time.
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I can see a little Arya Stark was hiding in your Hannah :P
That was a lovely story!
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Wow, what a revenge!
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Revenge is sweet. Revenge is apple pie.
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Good post i like thank you
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Yeah, I want to eat all the apples on the planet. Especially always green
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Hopefully not the ones from Mars
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Hopefully :))
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Todos deberiamos comer una manzana al dia para nuestra salud es muy beneficioso
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I do not speak this language
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nice
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mantap
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And this is why I hate apple pie
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You wanted her to be less whiny :P
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That's the spirit! Less whining, more action :D
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apple is not a friut in 21 century..
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... What
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You have always shared some different and interesting topics and now a days science fiction topics are much popular, I appreciate your creativity skills as well as ideas you shared with us in this form.
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An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
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And apples like this keep the doctor away forever. Cause you're dead.
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Hahahaha wonderful Reply suesa.
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That was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I am glad I chose to profile you on my little steemmag. I do not get many views, but the 20 view avg I get I am sure they will all enjoy reading this story of yours.
I really appreciate the links at the end of the stories. Relaxation for the mind, then expansion of the mind time. Wonderful story telling and a wonderful Idea about the links.
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