The Industrialist

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Scientific Awards Committee Defense Hall, BloomForge Enclave District

Presentation of Invention – InVitro Plant Propagation by the use of Tissue Culture Method

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The time had slipped him, and his time for defense review escaped him. Tiresome battled his brain function, he had little sleep. As soon as he arrived at his new apartment in SteamHaven from his meeting with Adamson, he went on partial assembly of the Ultragenerator.

His new room held not much of a difference from his condominium in HyperVista. He was situated in SteamHaven just near the weapons manufacturing industries that he would supervise in the future.

He had his quick meal, luckily, CBD had provided his groceries for him. He would not have spent a dime for groceries. It was part of the perks.

He headed to SAC (Scientific Awards Committee) with two SHFs still shadowing his steps, a little closer this time. About fifteen steps.

They maintained their casual look as if they were just on a holiday, wearing mid-classer suits, and had removed their body armor with a print of SHF on them.

As he entered the halls, Jaqi was sitting there with the rack from the lab covered in white cloth. She was reviewing her tab in preparation for their defense. Her legs were crossed, her slit slightly revealing her thigh, and a silky cloth hugging her to emphasize her stunning shape.

"Good morning," She greeted with a light mood. She was always like that. Seemingly, the pressure did not affect the way she looked or the way she handled her emotions. Her face was so fresh, and properly dressed like she would go to the mall afterward.

Lance, on the other hand, sweat had drenched his back, and a bit of shaking involuntarily looming on his hands.

"Hey!" Lance responded.

"Did you study?"

"Yup, a bit," Lance lied. He never had the time to study. He would rely on his stock knowledge which he was confident still.

"Hey, don't worry, alright. It will be fine. Just follow my lead." Jaqi winked.

Then she stood up from where she sat and sighed. "It's game time."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Then she effortlessly pushed the two large doors of the defense room, while Lance followed suit pushing the rack behind Jaqi. It was the same setup and the same faces still sat behind high desks, towering before them. Lance situated the rack in front of the panelists and took off the white cloth that covered it.

The fragrance of the Aiveez plant permeated the room and it enthralled the panelists. They never had this aroma before. Aiveez plants originated outside the walls. They served as mountain weeds for ages before it was discovered as poison to the Abominants.

"Good morning, Panelists," Jaqi bowed. Lance just stood a meter behind her.

"This is a team project, and with me is Lance Berkley as my team member. And we call this project, 'The InVitro Tissue Culture Plant Propagation.'

The Panelists' mood seemed to be light, perhaps, Jaqi was the cause of it. Her influence emanated to them, and this defense would go so smoothly. Apparently, Lance's presence only contributed a little. There were no condescending stares, only smiles. Doctor Zee, his current endorser, had darted a friendly stare unto Lance. Lance smiled back at him.

With the leader of the defense panelists on their side, this would go smoothly. What terrified Lance was his momentum. He could not maybe catch up on Jaqi's in-depth knowledge when it comes to their project defense.

'Just go with the flow, Lance. Make them laugh if you have to,' Lance thought.

"If I may," Jaqi continued, "I will go over some introductions. I know you are all busy," There were slight laughter as if Jaqi had also experienced as part of the Committee herself, "then, let's cut to the chase."

"Please do, Miss Jaqi," Doctor Zee said.

"The main objective of this project is to propagate plants the easier way." She continued, "In HomesteadGreen, the methods of propagation were the use of seedlings from full-grown plants, cuttings, shoots, marcotting, grafting, and of course, genetic engineering. However, these methods seemed to limit the number of planting materials per adult plant, except for the seeds.

But we have plants necessary for our food mixtures, do not have seeds to bear, and rely only on cuttings or shoots for propagation. This inhibits the City from maximizing inventories, hence, a shortage of such plant sources. Our project would solve this predicament. For non-seed-bearing plants, we used tissues of an adult plant, and let it grow in a bacterial medium in vials.

In one adult plant, we can grow into hundreds of new seedlings by splicing tissues into small cubes and submerging them into compatible media."

Lance revered how Jaqi delivered her statements. They were clear, well-thought-out, and objective. Lance only saw positive auras emanating from the panelists.

"The extent of this project," she continued as the panelists felt silent, "is we can use food-bearing plants to augment our food storage inventories and prevent future shortages. We can prepare for slow seasons such as the Demetrian season next year. As we needed time for plants to grow."

Mister Tanaka, the electronic Tier 2, raised his hand. He was always the first to question everything. The project was new to them. They were used to scrutinize projects that were inclined with Electrical, Mechanical, and Electronic fields. However, what was in front of them was the technology of the Lost Engineers.

And somehow, Jaqi found a way to harness the untapped science of Botany, and Agricultural Science.

"What plants did you use for this project?" Mister Tanaka said.

Jaqi glanced to Lance over her shoulder and gave the floor to him.

"Oh, it's Mister Berkley who would answer my question," Mister Tanaka said. He was the one who questioned Lance about Erik Berkley, and Lance had to lie about his connection with the latter in question.

"Yes, Mister Tanka." Lance bowed before them. "We used King Orange and Aiveez weed."

"I understand about King Orange that you use as a sample." Mister Tanaka interjected, "Because we can harvest its fruits. I love King Orange, regardless of its price. Preposterous. It's a no-brainer and it's a good sample. But the Aiveez weed, why spend the risk for this project? I mean, it's only a weed, right?" Tanaka asked.

Jaqi held a stare at him. As if her stares were saying to him mentally that they should stick only with King Orange.

"Mister Tanaka, this project shows the versatility of different plant species compatibility of the media. Secondly, it is the most important plant right now, in my opinion. Aiveez plant is not used for food, or for food mixture, or condiments, not even for ornamentals. They are only weeds that grew wildly in the mountains of Oroz continent.

However, according to recent discoveries, the Aiveez Nectar in a full-grown state can be used in poison bomb weapons. You know, during the attack on Steelpoint, if you heard the news. Actually, divulging this to the public might incarcerate me, because the poison bomb project design is now owned by CBD."

Now, the faces of the panelists turned sour. Like, they were struck by lightning. They knew about the News and what saved the City from the Abominant attacks. But they never knew how the poison bombs were invented.

Lance glanced at Jaqi, and her mouth was semi-opened with eyes bulged in surprise.