Queen Hakurabi grinned. "Now show our dear gardener the fruits of your genius, dear Mic-Hiru."
The researcher smiled. "That's too much praise, really! I was just lucky. Well, during one of my expeditions in the desert, I stumbled over this little chest by chance. And in it were those seeds... here, take a look!" And she opened the chest widely, so Mak-Oto could have a closer look at the seeds within.
"So... and what kind of seeds are those?" Mak-Oto wondered.
"It's a very special variant of the pansy," Mic-Hiru explained.
"Yes," the queen nodded. "That's why those old beds had to go... instead of them, we will plant those pansies. Surely you understand that the old gardens had to make way for the flowers of the future, do you?"
"Well, not really," the gardener admitted. "What's so special about pansies? I mean, they sure are pretty, but..."
"Those pansies have the ability to increase your intelligence," Mic-Hiru said. "Through several experiments, I and my colleagues were able to determine that the scent of those pansies gives the human mind the chance to come up with revolutionary, new ideas for any sort of inventions, from which Babylon might benefit."
"You're kidding me, right?" the gardener blurted out.
"Most certainly not," the queen assured her. "Just imagine what kind of inventions the scientists will make with the help of the pansies. Babylon will undergo an era of wisdom and evolution."
"The most amazing thing is," the head researcher continued. "That those seeds seem to be at least 300 years young."
Mak-Oto blinked. "What do you mean, 'young'?"
"Well... they are from the future."
"What makes you think THAT?" Mak-Oto asked in total disbelief.
Mic-Hiru looked down at the seeds with a shrug. "After our experiments, we came to the conclusion that there has to be no other explanation for this. I mean, it makes sense, doesn't it? How else would there be a flower like this and we didn't hear from it before?"
"I don't care where they come from," the queen said. "As long as they help our city to turn into the center of the scientific world..." She smirked. "And our treasure rooms will surely benefit from all of this."
Mak-Oto could only shake her head and sigh.
----
And thus, our poor gardener was assigned with caring for the all new gardens of Babylon... which weren't really much more than one single, giant flowerbed of pansies.
"This is ridiculous..." Mak-Oto angrily muttered to herself while she worked with her hoe. With a deep frown, she watched Mic-Hiru and her colleagues, as they wandered through the gardens, quite often even carrying one of the pansies with them, intent on getting new, incredible ideas from the flower's scent.
"Well, I hope they come up with something soon," Mak-Oto grumbled. "So I can convince the queen to return the beautiful gardens to Babylon, as we know them." She looked down at the pansies with distaste. While she liked flowers and other plants very much, she was fed up with caring for pansies day in and out.
----
Several days later, the leading researchers of Babylon were assembled on the biggest terrace of the Hanging Gardens.
When the queen finally showed up, a smile of pride appeared on all of their faces.
"We're glad you came, Your Highness!" a black-haired scientist named Reih-Ino spoke up.
"We have so many ideas we have to tell you," a blonde girl called Us-Agi proclaimed.
"I hope so," the queen smirked.
'Me too," thought Mak-Oto, who was watching the scene from her working place.
The queen looked over the assembled people and finally gestured at Reih-Ino. "You may begin."
The girl nodded and stepped forth. "Yes, Your Majesty! You see, my pansy gave me the vision of a special device... some sort of box that is connected to a banana-shaped object, with a wire... It allows the users to communicate with each other over long distances."
'Sounds like a brilliant idea,' Mak-Oto thought. 'The queen will most likely be impressed by that.'
But she was wrong.
"You foolish imbecile!" Hakurabi shouted with a voice that made Reih-Ino wince. "Do you know what such a machine would result in? I tell you: The people would exchange secrets behind my back, backbite their neighbors and similar things. They will plot conspiracies behind my back and who knows what else."
Reih-Ino looked disappointed. She was so sure that the queen would like her idea.
"Okay, I heard enough," Hakurabi sighed. "Next one, please!"
As Reih-Ino stepped aside, Us-Agi approached her queen.
Mic-Hiru groaned. Us-Agi had the reputation of being one of the clumsiest scientists ever, who only came up with foolish ideas. She didn't want to know what the pansy's scent had put into her screwed-up mind...
But actually, the blonde girl's idea wasn't too far-fetched.
"Um, my pansy told me that we could build a bigger box that can show all kinds of colors and moving pictures, as well as create sounds... even over a big distance."
"That actually sounds like a stroke of genius," another researcher nodded, impressed by his colleagues idea.
"You really think so?" Us-Agi smiled happily.
"Of course, I think you..."
"ARE THE BIGGEST BUFFOON IN ALL OF BABYLON!" the queen thundered.
"Wh-what...?" Us-Agi squeaked in a fearful voice.
"Such a foolish device won't bring any good to our kingdom," the queen grumbled. People would waste their time with staring into their boxes and the children would lose their interest in learning for school."
Hakurabi sighed. "Did I demand too much from you? I want to have a machine that helps Babylon to prosper... give me a device that's able to create rain, or to turn sand into diamonds! Understood? Now..."
Her look wandered over to Mic-Hiru. "You are my final hope, Mic-Hiru," she said in a pleading voice.
The turquoise-haired scientist suddenly wasn't too sure about her own idea anymore. She came up with a vehicle that had the ability to move on its own, only with the help of steam... but in the end, she questioned her own invention. And what if the queen didn't like that idea either?
"Well, talk!" Hakurabi impatiently said. "Didn't you think hard enough?"
"Well, to tell you the truth..." Mic-Hiru carefully spoke up.
The queen stared at her. "Don't tell me you didn't think of anything!"
"Um, actually..."
"That cannot be! Mic-Hiru!" The queen whined. "Don't tell me that this is true! You were my last hope. It was your idea after all. Do you have to make me suffer like this?"
"W-wait, um, actually... I just got an idea, my queen."
"You did?" Hakurabi asked hopefully. "What is it?"
Mic-Hiru giggled nervously. "It's, um... a machine that improves your ability to think."
The queen could only sweatdrop, while Mak-Oto tried very hard not to laugh out loud.
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(Posted Sun, 11 Mar 2007 10:41)
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