#bellring

As Professor Bouchard’s class came to an end, he could feel the tension rising in the air. He sighed, knowing not many had the same love of advanced biology he did and waved towards the door.

“Go on then.” His class, mostly seniors trying to fill in their required credits, hurredy packed up and took off, chattering excitedly to eeach other about their weekend plans. Professor Bouchard packed up his own books, internally sighing when he saw how far behind they had fallen, but pushed himself forward. He was the last to leave the classroom, the gas lamps on the wall dimming automatically as he left. The halls were filled with sunlight, courtesy of the skylight overhead as he crossed campus, heading for his own haunt. Despite not being a member of the chemistry faculty, they let him be, and Brouchard was free to slip into a darkened classroom, lit by the bioluminescent glow of plants, and the purple flame of the overhead gas lamps. The plant in particular the class seemed to be studying, was new. It only grew in select environments, and was only reported as existing sometime after the meteor incident of 1873.

“The Bellring plant,” Professor Hammond continued his lecture, unbothered by Bouchard’s entrance, only waving a hand to pass a pair of protective goggles down the row of students to the man. “Is unlike any other plant in the world. It’s genetic makeup is vastly different from any Earth made structure, and its bioluminescence has yet to be explained. That is our duty, my chemists, to study whether or not this light source can be harnessed. Be careful to wear your gloves and keep your sleeves down when touching them–the skin of the plant is highly toxic to humans and will burn you.” One of the students jerked back and stripped off his glove revealing bright red skin from where the plant had found an opening in his glove. “Spare gloves are on my desk, Anderson.”

Bouchard watched as Hammond took a scalpel and peeled off one of the petals. “Note how it still holds its bioluminescence, even when separated from the root of the plant?” The students crowed around to look and he passed the sample down the aisle, down to where Bouchard could see it more clearly. “Any thoughts Professor Bouchard?”

Bouchard startled. “Well,” he said, raking his mind for a comparison. “It actually reminds me a bit of jellyfish and their ability, though crystal jellyfish for example gain their luminescence through proteins they absorb, and this plant has only been intaking Earthly nutrients as far as we can tell. What compound could it be absorbing that makes it glow when our own plants do not? We could posit that it is therefore not something it generates in response to a nutrient it absorbs but rather it is possibly a mechanism perpetuated by the internal system itself–Luciferin and Luciferase. Think of the Brittlestar–a type of starfish that detaches glowing limbs and pins them on fish so that it may escape the notice of predators.”

“A fascinating theory, and sound considering these plants seem to shed their petals every so often. The petals are not dead, like the leaves of a tree, but rather they can perhaps be used for our purposes…” Professor Hammond said consideringly. He checked his watch. “And that’s about time today, folks, remember, your homework tonight is to figure out as best you can what way you want to try and deconstruct your selection of the Bellring plant to try and isolate the bioluminescence without producing harmful effects. The theoretical work, if you will, to our practicum in the lab. Alright? Now scat.” A few students laughed as Professor Hammond shooed them off, flipping a switch to change to lights from purple to bright yellow. Bouchard blinked away dark spots as Hammond stripped his lab coat and gloves off, taking the goggles back from him and placing them safely in their designated cabinet. Hammond was revealed beneath all those layers, his sleeves up to his forearms and his vest wrinkled. He flattened his dark hair where it was sticking up and checked his pocketwatch.

“Well?” Hammond looked at him. “I’m famished. What do you say we hit up that cafe on the edge of campus?”