The Pollinator's Ceremony: Part 2

Edgar watched as Roberta walked over to Carl. He was relieved. She could be a lot to handle sometimes. He'd whisper Carl a 'godspeed' if he didn't dislike him so much. He watched Edward talking to every waiter and waitress he encountered, probably looking for the tastiest treats, sugar, and caffeine.

Edgar decided this would be a good time to look in on the youth program. This was always the main event for the colony. "The Children are our future", the wise words of Dr. Lira Helix carved into the cement bench by where the children were sitting.  Sorted by ages, the smallest children sat in a semi-circle around their teacher. The older ones, ages 6-11 were standing near Jenny Balata and listening intently. Milo and Orion would be found in this group. 

Milo stood in the front talking to Jenny about a self-pollinating peach tree. He was an excellent student and would be going on his walk to the Remembrance Flame next year.  Edgar shuttered remembering his own experience and wondered how Milo would feel after seeing it and knowing the truth. Then he noticed Milo's brother, Orion. He sat off to the side, slumped down and not paying attention to the speaker, probably counting the hours until the ceremony would be over. 

"What are we learning about Orion?" Edgar snuck up on him. 

"Uncle Edgar!" Orion straightened up and beamed at him with shiny brown eyes and dark hair. The kids loved Edgar. Sarah and Roberta had been bringing them to dome 3 since they could walk. 

"Milo is getting all caught up in the Peach Tree and I think he's obsessed with fruit. I'm getting kind of bored and the snacks here aren't all I thought they'd be...." he trailed off, then his voice got very serious, "When are they going to release the Bees? I can't wait to see them. I've never seen them all released at once."   

Edgar's heart soared. He knew this little boy was having a hard time making his way, he had been not keeping up in his required Growth Ledgers, so no one knew what exactly he was interested in or how to focus his attention. This was a thrilling revelation, and Edgar knew he might be able to help. 

"Well Rion, it's pretty exciting, we release all the little robot bees from their containers then hundreds of them fly up into the air with their tiny green lights blinking, they then send out a few scouts to the flowers, we all hum the bee song and the bees do a little bee dance (based on what earth bees do to communicate), then they all find the flowers!" 

Orion's eyes lit up and he was excited all over again. Until his teacher came over. Then he seemed to turn into a shell.  The teacher was delighted to see Edgar. 

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Mays, I'm Orion's teacher, are you looking for a child to help with the release today? We have several students who have written in their growth ledger about wanting to participate if you'd like to meet them." 

Edgar knew this was his opportunity for Orion. He was supposed to pick a child release the first bee! This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Orion. This would also require the teacher's approval. 

"I actually was, how perceptive of you! I was thinking about Orion here, I've never seen him get so excited about bees. Did you know he was interested?"

Her face turned a little ashen and she looked down at him, a mixture of annoyance and frustration went across her face. 

"I don't know much about Orion because he has not been filling out his growth ledger as is required." She sucked in a huge breath. 

"Maybe this would be a wonderful entry for him to do this today?"  His mind was pleading for her to agree. 

"I don't know, I'm not sure we should reward bad behavior and make him the center of attention." 

"It might inspire something in him; we all need a little inspiration sometimes. As I was getting the plants readied for this dome, I had to do so many calculations, and I had to make hybrids of other plants. There were days I just didn't want to do it. So, I had to find some inspiration. Doing things just because they are required of us is simply not enough sometimes. Sometimes we just have to have a little fun." 

She looked a little more willing and curious "What do you do for fun sir? What inspired you?" 

Edgar couldn't admit his most inspiring thing was visiting the black market and selling perfumes, or much less making them. He couldn't say 'Using copious amounts of water to grow avocados and plumeria'. He would have to invent something. 

"Well, for this project I found when I went to lunch at the canteen and ordered the craziest thing on the menu it was like a cascade of other feelings coming to me all at once. Even if the food contained something I didn't like, it was almost like someone else's creativity jump started my own." 

"Maybe Orion does need something new, and this would certainly be new," she looked down on him with a kinder look this time "Would you like to do this?"

"Oh yes, please, please, please.... I want to see those little bees so much." He looked so happy that everyone around him had to smile. 

"Ok, but you have to write in your growth ledger tonight and keep doing it. I know routine is not your strong point, but this has to be done, and you can't forget this!" 

"Copy. Heard. I got it. I will do it. Roger." 

Milo briefly overheard this interaction and smiled. His brother was never this excited about anything, knowing this could be a new path for him and it brought him joy. The brothers briefly looked at each other and smiled. 

"Ok, we have to go to the containment bees and take a look. The speeches will start soon." Edgar gestured to the stage "Your bees are waiting."