Save the Flowers by Caline Tan

Prologue
    15 August 2111
    11:33pm
    The door opened. A man, dressed in a black shirt and a pair of black pants, slipped into the laboratory and closed the door quietly behind him.
    The laboratory was dark. The man switched on his torch and shone the light around the room. He seemed to be looking for something. On the left side of the room was a desk with two laptops. On the right side of the room was a long workbench with several pots of plants. More potted plants were found on the floor directly below the bench. The room looked more like a jungle than a laboratory.
    After a few minutes, the man found the object that he was looking for. He shone his torch on it as he strode towards it. It was a silvery-grey pebble lying on a workbench under the window. Several more pots of plants lined the workbench.
    The man held the torch in his mouth with his teeth, keeping the light on the pebble. There were several tiny green dots on the pebble. Using his right index finger, the man pressed on one of the dots. The pebble opened up like a clam. Inside the pebble were many more small lit dots of different colours. These lit dots were actually small buttons. The buttons were arranged close together in neat rows. One would not be able to touch any of the buttons without touching the others around it with one’s fingers. The man took out a sharp tool from his bag. He then started using it to jab at the lit buttons.
    â€œWho are you?” a voice suddenly sounded.
    The man in black got a shock and dropped his torch. He bent down to pick it up.
    â€œWhat are you doing here in the middle of the night?” asked the voice again.
    The man straightened himself up and faced the pebble. It was the pebble who had been talking to him.
    â€œHello, don’t you remember me? We met this afternoon,” said the man, trying to sound as friendly as possible.
    â€œI recognise your voice,” said the pebble. “You’re Professor Raymond Kong, Professor Han’s friend.”
    â€œYes, I’m glad you remember,” said Professor Kong, smiling. “Professor Han sent me here. He said that there is something wrong with you so he asked me to help fix you.”
    â€œOh, I didn’t know. He didn’t tell me that there’s anything wrong with me,” said the pebble. It felt that something was not right. If Professor Kong was sent here by Professor Han, as what he claimed, why did he come in the middle of the night? And why didn’t he turn on the lights? Was he afraid to be seen?
    â€œSo what’s wrong with me?” asked the pebble as Professor Kong started to use the sharp tool to hit the various buttons inside its body.
    â€œWell, I need to do a check before I can find out,” said Professor Kong as he moved the tool swiftly over the buttons.
    â€œI don’t think you’re sent by Professor Han! You’re trying to steal his data!” shouted the pebble. “Help! Help!”
    â€œStop shouting! If you continue to shout, I’ll throw you to the ground and break you to pieces!” Professor Kong warned.
    â€œI don’t care if you break me into pieces!” shouted the pebble. “I won’t let you steal Professor Han’s data. Help! Security! There’s an intruder!”

    Professor Kong panicked. He placed the torch on the workbench and grabbed the pebble. He covered the pebble with his hands to try to block the noise that it was making. However, it did not work. Afraid that the pebble’s shouts would alert the security, he decided to put it in his bag. While he was trying to open his bag with one of his hands, something sharp shot out from the pebble and pricked his palm.
    â€œOuch!” Professor Kong yelled in pain and flung the pebble into the air. The pebble flew to the other corner of the laboratory. It hit against the wall before crashing onto the floor.
    â€œWhat did it poke me with?” exclaimed Professor Kong angrily as he used a tissue to