When I was like three or four years old my mom told me that someone managed to grow flowers on the moon, but I haven't been able to find any sources. I'm not really a science geek, so I figured that it would be easier to ask you guys. Did that actually happen, or was she just joking?
You're thinking of Dr. Cirilia Kos and her lunar orchids. Your mom was kind of right. They weren't on the moon, but she did figure out how to grow orchids in lunar soil. She did it in a lab, though, and she sadly passed away before she could continue her studies. It was wild. Orchids are hard to keep in normal conditions, let alone in completely different soil.
Why use them, then? Why not grow daisies or something?
No idea. I guess she really loved them.
She loved them a lot. I remember her. She listened to me.
The first housewarming gift Cirilia ever received was a potted orchid. It was feeble, and it had seen much better days. The petals drooped and the colors were faded and dull. It was gifted to her by someone who also knew nothing about orchids. It was potted in regular soil, and not given nearly enough water.
Cirilia, at the time, was feeble, and had seen much better days. I have never been quite sure of what causes such deep melancholy in humans. I create so much, yet so few ever manage to see it. I suppose that is the risk of accommodating a species so varied in their tastes.
The orchids were plain, but Cirilia got out of bed at least once every day to water them. Eventually she found herself leaving the house to get a suitable potting mix. A few months after receiving her gift, she was cleaning her house to have guests, as she wanted to share her flowers with family. A life dedicated to horticulture followed. When Cirilia was finally contacted for her expertise with plants (and her background in other fields), she knew exactly which plant she wanted to bring to the moon. Her peers asked her constantly to choose something more practical, to reconsider and use something less fickle. She refused.
Dr. Kos taught herself how to plant orchids on lunar soil, just because they made her happy. I remember her. I sang to her when she was sad. She listened to my song. She loved those flowers and that moon so, so much.
Who are you? How do you know all of this?