The pollinator's ceremony: part 3 (conclusion)

Roberta and Edward could not conceal their excitement Orion had been picked. They expected Milo, or one of his classmates, never could they have guessed Rion would be so excited about bees, or that his lack of schoolwork would end in any kind of reward. They just wanted him to make it through the school year; this honor would be a giant boost for him. 

"What a wonderful surprise!" she was hugging and kissing her smaller son. 

"Ok Mom, don't make this a thing." Orion shrugged Roberta off and looked at his brother for guidance. Milo just smiled back at him. 

"Are you sure you don't want to do it?" Orion looked at Milo, worried he was taking his brother's spot in the ceremony. 

Milo's bright eyes shined back at him happily, "No, I think they picked the right guy." 

Jenny Balata chimed in next, her brown ponytail, white lab coat and glasses, "Let's see if these bees picked you!" she said with a smile. 

As a group they headed over to the Robobee containers. 

"Don't be afraid if they don't react right away, their biomechanical mechanisms don't always solicit a response." Jenny said, looking at him and understanding how delicate the situation with Rion had been, his lack of schoolwork, neglect of the growth ledger, and dislike of group events. Milo had filled her in on all of this accidentally and she had even noticed his reluctance to join the group until Edgar appeared. 

"I think it moved!" Orion yelled. 

"Maybe, sometimes they...." Jenny was hesitant but looked closer, one was blinking. "...Oh yeah, they are ready. They must like you, sometimes they wait until the container is opened.  We better get these on the stage and start the speeches."`

As the teachers, instructors, other children and volunteers moved the containers on the stage, people started taking their seats. Carl had started arguing with the blonde woman again off to the side, Edward was looking for more food to take to his seat, Roberta was straightening Orion's outfit, and Edgar was thumbing nervously through his tablet for his notes. 

"You'll be fine, you've done this a hundred times Edgar." Jenny said soothingly. "I know you and it's the same as every other time, just with a new space. Plants, same, bees, same, people, same (But a lot more) and speech, I'm sure you have the same stuff today." 

"Oh, but I don't Jenny. Today is very different." 

Carl tapped the mic and everyone's attention turned towards the stage. He was the first speaker. His dark hair and bulbous nose were the only thing visible to the people in the back. He was very tall, so he had to lean into the microphone as it wasn't adjusted to him. 

"Don't worry folks, I'm not your main speaker" laugher from the crowd. "Welcome fellow collaborators and colonists. I am so glad you could all be here to see our massive work of art and technology. It was a labor of love and sacrifice. We all put a lot of time into this, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped us, our builders " He gestured to a group, "our cleaners, our gardeners, our technology team and of course our legal team working with the Elders," sweeping gesture to the blonde with whom he had been arguing,  "Now, without any further ado, Edgar and his Robobees." 

Edgar approached the stage. The lights were dimmer and the LED screen overhead in the dome was now glowing a softer, earth like blue even though the world outside was nothing like it. This world they created in the dome was sacred. It was a place full of life, unlike the turmoil and death of the outside planet's surface. 

"Hello builders. Witnesses. Survivors. Welcome to Dome 6. Part of our rapidly growing colony. I cannot imagine my father or Grandfather had this in mind when they began this colony. They knew it would grow, and technology would soar, but things have expanded beyond their imagination and mine. My grandfather only saw 3 domes constructed in his lifetime. He created new plants, he fed us, created the world we live in and was one of the biggest contributors to the society we live in now. He understood what a challenge life is on this planet." Edgar stopped and took a breath, knowing his next statement was rebellious.

"He wanted us ALL to live. He believed in nature and nature isn't always nice, but nature isn't all order and productivity. Not every flowering plant makes fruit, sometimes it's just there for itself. I remember this about him, he taught me so many things about people, plants, and life. So many things we put on timetables and create lists for, but really, what we are doing here is learning how to survive. We now need to learn to thrive. In setting this event up I made some very special plants, just for this dome. Like this dwarf Martian Citrus. It's small. It adjusts to low gravity. It produces a yield that will make citrus to feed us all, give us Vitamin C.  Our signature moss, it will only grow in this dome, it is designed for the warmth. It scrubs the CO2 out of the air and is also edible. I promise it's delicious."  

Muffled laugher came across as everyone in the dome remembered the inedible 'edible' moss crisis from 10 years before. 

He took a deep breath and realized it was going to be dangerous to take this last step, but he had to do it. His mouth was dry, his hands shaking.

"I have one more exciting thing I grew for today, just for this dome and just for you. It's a ghost orchid."

Gasps. Low murmurs. A plant with no purpose. No one had been known to openly use resources to grow something with no purpose. 

"This is something for beauty's sake. It takes very little resources and has been very carefully cultivated. It may be controversial, but it's here and I hope you all enjoy it as long as it blooms." 

He took a breath and a look around to all the shocked faces. There would be consequences, the teacher even seemed a little angry. Jenny looked flabbergasted. A few people smiled looking at the beautiful orchid. Edgar's heart soared knowing they've never seen anything this beautiful. 

"We must now turn from beauty to duty! Our real stars are over here and joining us tonight is the students from 6-11 and Orion Ortega has been chosen to release the bees, or as Jenny would say, 'the bees chose him'".

Orion came up to the stage to the first container of Robobees and lifted the top, the bees' lights turned green and flew to the sky in the dome. One bee landed on Orion's hand, and they had a moment examining each other. Jenny opened the next container, and a bee landed on her shoulder. Edgar opened the last container, and the third set of bees flew to the ceiling. 

"Now we need everyone to hum the bee's favorite song (I think you all know it) and the scout bees with find the way. Then they (he held up his finger to his scout bee hovering) will do their dance and lead the way for the others." 

With this a gentle hum came over the crowd. The previous shake up was forgotten as they needed to perform this task. All in unison they all hummed the same tune and the three bees on the three humans danced and made their way through the flowers. Collective consciousness took over and the bees swarmed down and followed their leaders, and the crowd continued humming until the last bees went back to their containers for sleep. 

"Thank you so much for coming tonight. They probably made too much food so help yourself to the appetizers. The dome has been tested for safety and should stay warm overnight. The LED screens are going to be turned on to outside images, so feel free to stay until the sunsets, but not much afterwards as you all have work tomorrow."  

Subdued laugher and everyone snapped their fingers to indicate their appreciation at the end of the speech. 

As Edgar came off the stage he was rushed by Jenny. 

"Oh Edgar, what have you done? You know it is forbidden to grow things like that; everyone already knows you do it, but now it's going to be impossible for you not to be held accountable!" 

"Jenny, I don't really care at this point. Is it really living if most of us are unhappy and the other half die anyway?" 

Suddenly many people approached all wanting to see the ghost orchid. Many of them asking questions and amazed at it's beauty. Edgar didn't worry anymore. It was done and a wave of relief poured over him as he watched Milo and Orion talking to the adults about bees, plants, and survival. He knew the future would be difficult, but he also knew he may have just paved the way for a little bit of change.