Taking her hand, he walked over to the edge of the cliff and gazed down. The mountainside was covered with these double-leaved plants.
“Oh my Goddess! There are millions of them. But you say they only grow here? And no one else has discovered them?”
“No one. Not even the tribes that once populated the island. People settle near water sources. The nearest river is miles away.”
“Amazing…”
“So what now?” Gaia asked.
“I will have to test it first. I need to see what it’s made of—break it down to its chemical formula. And then I’ll compare it to other items in the pharmaceutical formularies. If indeed it’s something new, I’ll find the best delivery system for it. And then I must find test subjects—”
Mother Nature threw her hands in the air. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, no wonder it takes you humans so long to do anything.”
“Excuse me? You know how I do things?”
“Oh, not you. Just people in general.”
“Ah. I understand. There are things that need to be checked and double-checked and triple-checked just to make sure they’re safe for human consumption. Don’t you agree that what people put in their mouths and bodies should be safe?”
Mother Nature sighed. “All I know is I handed you something that does what you wanted it to do, and yet you’re going to change it, then double-check, triple-check, and go through all kinds of chemical rigmarole. Why question Mother Nature?”
“It’s nothing personal, Gaia. I’m positive you would not have given me something that would hurt humans. But it’s bureaucracy. All of these things have to be recorded, tested, proven, and presented to the powers that be—oh, not you, of course. You’re the ultimate power…”Stop it, Aaron. You’re babbling!“I’m sorry for any confusion. Let’s just say it would not go on the market without a lot of scientific examination and analysis, and if it’s going to do anybody any good, it has to go on the market.”
“I understand what you’re saying, and I’ll try not to take it personally.”
“Good. It’s not meant to be personal. It’s strictly the way things are. And we already talked about being honest…”
She scratched her head. “So many things seem absolutely ridiculous to me. I wish people could just trust me. I knew what I was doing when I inventedmostof this stuff.”
Most of it?
“Some of what I created morphed into its own thing, but had my beautiful world just been left alone, I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Aaron thought about it and couldn’t agree. Sharks? Killer bees? Scorpions? Rattlesnakes?
“Not if you leave them alone, like humans are supposed to.”
I can’t get used to you reading my mind.
“I know. I’ll try not to.”
“Well, Gaia, I thank you for your help. I’m very excited about the possibilities.”
“You’re welcome. You might want to get started on this right away. I imagine you’d like to see it come to fruition during your lifetime.”
“Ha ha.” He smiled and was relieved when she smiled back. “I wish I could take some back to Brookline with me, but I’m sure it won’t be allowed.”
“Let me guess…bureaucracy?”
Aaron nodded. “Yes, quite so.”
“Well, you have to do what you have to do. Oh, speaking of that, I have a tsunami to stop.”
“Oh dear. You better get to—”
Gaia disappeared, and Aaron was left holding a heart-shaped leaf. It would take years to go from this form to a usable pill or liquid and then to human trials. But first, he had to do what he could here on the island. “There must be a university with a good botany or chemistry department that survived the hurricane,” he said.
* * *
