The Industrialist

"You are back again, Son of Erik," The Seer said.

She wore the same long clothes, up to her shins, the colorful ones but the quality of the garment used was not as silky smooth as the high classers.

She also had numerous colored beads that hung on her neck and her wrists. Her face emanated like a glow of friendliness as if seeing the son of Erik Berkley for the first time.

"I need information from you, Seer," Lance had his curt bow. With him on his journey were Damian and George. Joe was tending with the newly born Zelklings, as he likes to call them, and was also harvesting captured rats from the rebel members.

"I am glad that you come here and thank you face to face about your businesses here in Axiom. I hope that you have not encounter an Abominant again on your way here," Seer said cheerfully.

Lance had his second Tyllrium delivery and bought another truckload of it. The Trench merchants were happy to sell all their collected Tyllrium from various unknown sources.

"If information you like, I can offer what I have," Seer smiled.

"I will need to know about the Lost Engineers," Lance said.

The Seer’s face turned slightly sour.

"How do you know that I know about the Lost Engineers?" The Seer asked.

"The Cybernetic constructs of your thighs and pelvis that supported your stance. The Corporation never had one successful project to combine metallic components with organic flesh."

The seer had this long stare towards the inquisitive kid. However, they were some glad, thanking, eyes like the ones during receiving gifts on your birthday kind of eyes. Partnered by a small smile that creased across her face.

"Maybe it’s time to let you know about them. I do not really know their whereabouts or their location. But they shed information about a few of their knowledge here in Axiom Trench. They say they wanna save the world. It’s the reason that they are extending help to the Outsiders. Teaching us ways on how to survive on our own."

"So you have seen one of them?" Lance asked.

"Fortunately, two of them. One of them was the Botanist and the other was a Geologist."

"Where can I find them? I need information from their knowledge about how I can make poison," Lance reiterated. Find exclusive stories on mvl

Seer’s calm and soft demeanor turned into bursts of laughter. She almost cried when the kid said about poison. One of his goon, large built, military-looking like Handsome, stood beside her, and released a chuckle together with her, probably due to his respect for the Seer.

The Seer had this leniency about the way she moved, the way she spoke, and the way she handled her business with the people surrounding him. Even she had joked with the Doctor, the one who administered their chips beneath the skin of their nape.

Despite that, the Trenchers had their utmost respect towards their leader, the Seer of Axiom.

"Ok," her laughter finally subsided. "Poison you say? About a decade ago, just after the fall of the original Axiom Trench at the hands of the Abominants, the merchants and all the operators that escaped the Trench trade were in hiding as the monsters ran the place like their own. We went here, the nearest mountain ranges to hide ourselves from them.

We kept our gas masks on as we were in hiding for months. We gathered all our food and tried to ration our supply for us to prolong further our lives."

"But the two Scientists came to us and saved us. The Botanist had her seedlings that could nullify the contaminated air in a certain area. She said that the contaminated air serves as food for these plants. Hybrid types, she said."

"We planted them, the seedlings. Right here in this cave. As the Geologist suggested this place. He said there is something in the mountains that the Abominants are weak. I am not sure what it really means but it was effective. We haven’t had an Abominant attack since."

"I see the MAFs on the ceiling of the cave, were they the ones that filtered the air inside?" Lance asked.

"Yes, it’s true. Another Lost Engineer, a few years ago, had made the adjustments for it to function properly. The plants did their job for many years. But as the years passed and the population here in Axiom almost tripled, the contaminated air had risen, as the counters suggested."

"And our method of propagation had been difficult for us to mass produce those plants as the soil was also contaminated."

"If only she can visit again, maybe she can solve the problem." The Seer continued.

"The plants, Seer. Where are they?" Lance asked.

"We planted in all of the corners of this cave. We are surrounded by these plants. But I have some of it for propagation. Come!"

The Seer stood up from her chair and the cybernetic mechanism activated again and soothed her laborious stand. The whirring sound loomed, metallic materials harmoniously working together with human flesh.

Lance followed to the back of the tent. A translucent plastic curtain concealed a microplant propagation.

’What is this?’ Lance thought upon the site of high-powered lights outside the translucent ceiling that housed the seedlings in seedbeds and full-grown plants in individual pots.

The high-powered lights emitted heat and the same heat came in through the translucent plastic covers and was trapped inside the plastic housing, as Lance would call it at first.

"What is this?" Lance asked.

"This is what they call the Greenhouse Effect," The Seer said as she ambled inside the plastic house.

"It’s hot in here," Lance said as he followed suit.

"Of course, it is the technology of plant nursery. The heat trapped in this greenhouse will produce moisture and eventually create a humid environment, hence, sufficing the atmospheric needs of the plant."

Lance was speechless. It was his first time to actually experience inside a greenhouse and the sight of growing plants.

"As we all know, our soil cannot grow trees. Only the small ones, the ferns, the root crops, because of the nutritive capability of our soil. The Botanist had stressed out about the contaminated soil, cursing like it was the end of the world. Well, it is the end of the world."

"What are these plants?" Lance asked.

Almost seven inches long with large leaves drooping towards the soil. The leaves were multicolored; with combinations of red, green, and blue. The smell was fragrant, surprisingly, as it would not match the deceiving form of the plant.

"We call these Aiveez. Fragrant is it not?" The Seer said.

The seedlings, just an inch long, had luminous leaves like they were fireflies on the ground, emitting a bluish color.

It explained the multicolored environment of the Axiom Trench. Lance thought that all colored lights were only emitted by the neon lights that they placed on their trading huts.

The bluish colors, that were placed in the rocky walls and corners were growing seedlings. They helped filtered the atmosphere inside the enclosed cave.

"Don’t be deceived by their looks, son of Erik," The Seer said as Lance inspected each one of them with his fingers training softly to the delicate leaves of the glowing seedlings.

"Why?" Lance asked.

"They filtered the contaminated air. As the Botanist explained, he used these plants to fend off the Abominants in the Axiom Trench further away from this place. These plants were repellants of the Abominants, especially in their adult stage of the plant."

"That’s a start," Lance said.

"Not only that, she said that this is poison for the Abominants. She said about the chemical that contaminated the air, and also that coursed through the blood of these creatures had these mutated cells. And these mutated cells seemed to disintegrate if mixed with the Aiveez nectar."

’Poison for Abominants,’ Lance thought.

"What about humans, is it harmful to us?" Lance asked.

"The Botanist extracted the nectar from the Aiveez and drank it. I was surprised that she was not affected at all."

"Perfect. How can I extract the nectar?" Lance asked.

The Seer took out one of the adult Aiveez from one pot. Upside down, she squeezed the nectar out into a bottle. A viscous bluish liquid oozed out from the plant and gradually filled the jar.

"Remember, the soil is contaminated. No plant that can grow in a contaminated soil. The Botanist taught me to mix the nectar into the soil and the contamination would disappear. And as the liquid degrades, it would produce nutrients to the other plants."

Lance was speechless. It was what he was looking for. Perfect for his weapon.

"If you are looking for poison, this is the one," The Seer said.

"How can I propagate these?"

"Well, for starters, son of Erik. You will need a bigger space for you to farm Aiveez." The Seer responded.

"I will take all of them," Lance said.

"There is no free in Axiom, son of Erik. As you have already know," the Seer snorted. "One seedling is two units each."

"What about a full-grown?"

"50 units each," The Seer had her weird smile again. The delight grew back tenfold this time.

"I will be needing 10 of the adults," Lance said.

"Remember, you need to have also a nutritive soil for its seedlings. 10 units per sack."

Lance nodded and shook the Seer’s hand. "Deal."

"Remember, the adults grow shoots and that’s the start of propagating them." The Seer reminded.