The sun never set on the Sky-Farms of Soteris, endless platforms suspended above storm-cloaked valleys. Elya, a bio-engineer, monitored the crops, coaxing growth from genetically tuned seeds. One morning, a vine pulsed unnaturally. It curled and wove, spelling out symbols—an intelligence manifesting in engineered flora.
Elya hesitated. Reporting it meant sterilization of the field—destruction. But what if this was the first true sentient plant? She placed her palm against a leaf, and a warmth spread through her. Images flooded her mind—patterns, emotions, the sense of a vast, unseen network beneath the floating farms. It was not alone.
Security drones approached. She whispered a promise, then severed a single vine and hid it in her satchel. As officials torched the fields, she walked away, a tiny heartbeat of alien cognition cradled against her side. She didn’t know where it would lead—but she refused to let the first voice of the green go unheard.
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