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Some unusual roses...aka The Jason's at it again.
Some unusual roses...aka The Jason's at it again.
#1
While trying to figure out what I'm going to include in the abridged catalog I'm going to put up - and I AM working on it - my brain decided it wanted
to do roses. The Jason has done any number of types of roses over the years; they were some of the first biomods he ever created. But four of them are very
special indeed, and I wanted to share what had popped into my head...and to get people's opinions/reactions on them. Bob - do any of the GC folk like
roses? If so, they might especially like these - the Wiccans in particular.

_____________________________________________________________

With the use of ritual magic in the creation of each, the Elemental Heart Roses are the most complex flowers that the Jason has created to date (with the
possible exception of the Space Dandelion). They are certainly the ones that he has put the most effort into. Each one was made to represent an element, not
only to create something beautiful and unique, but also to be used in future rituals. To date, the Jason has created roses to represent each of the four
classical elements and is working on one final rose, to represent the element of Spirit. The Heart of the Soul is
giving him the most trouble...not surprising, after considering what he's already done for the other four.

Life's Flame Rose (Fire), aka Heart of the Flame - The petals of
this rose are transparent, and colored in shades of red and orange and yellow, appearing to be richly-colored stained glass. The rose is also bioluminescent;
within the petals, light flickers back and forth constantly. The effect can be seen during the day, but the true power of the effect is at night, where the
light shining through the colored petals actually makes the rose appear as though it were made out of flame. Each rose generates the faint sound of crackling
and popping (an enlarged chamber in the stem, just below the calyx, serves as a sound generator), and threaded through the scent of rose are the smells of
cinnamon and woodsmoke. The flowers are also thermogenic; while in bloom, the petals hit 105 degrees Fahrenheit, making them nicely warm to the touch to
non-biomodded humans and most others. The petals ARE edible, though if enough are eaten by a normal human, they will
trigger a biomod. If candied, they taste of rose and cinnamon.

Thor's Laughter Rose (Air), aka Storm Rose, aka Heart of the Storm
- Another stained glass rose, this one has petals that are colored in various rich shades of blue. It too is bioluminescent, but unlike the Fire rose which is
pretty much constantly emitting light, the Storm rose flashes at random, and in brighter bursts - sometimes all over the rose, then at other times in streaks
and bolts within the petals. It has a spicy rose scent, overlaid with mint and a sharp tang. It actually emits negative ions and the occasional molecule of
ozone; not enough to be a problem in an enclosed system, but two or three potted roses in a regular-sized room will give the same feeling to the air that it
has after a thunderstorm has passed. This is possible because the roses are weak bioelectric generators; they can generate just enough charge to give a light
electric shock, the same as you might get after scuffing your feet on the carpet in the winter and then touching something metal. If something metal is brought
VERY close to a petal, you might even see a faint spark jump the gap. The sound generator is present on this rose as well, and produces faint cracks and
rumbles, such as you might hear from a distant thunderstorm. If tasted, most organic lifeforms will get the same reaction as if they stuck a weak battery on
their tongue - it gives the same tingle/bite. While not exactly an interesting or pleasant taste for most, some biomodded humans and sentient robots might find
them so.

Sea Fire Rose (Water), aka Heart of the Sea - Appearing made of deep
aquamarine stained glass with hints of pale sea green and turquoise, the tips of this rose's petals fade to a frosted, translucent white. This rose
doesn't exhibit any bioluminscence during the day at all, and shows a slow, rhythmic pulsing of light at night - glowing faintly deep within the petals
then growing brighter over the space of a minute or two, then fading back to the background level. This is accompanied by the sound of crashing waves, white
noise produced by this rose's sound chamber, and the pulsing is in time to the waves. If grown in a system that exhibits traits of weather, the
pulses/sounds become stronger and more intense during windy weather, as if the waves were being storm-driven. The flower has a rose fragrance, but it's
strongly overlaid by that of the sea; imagine a rose growing among the dunes on a beach, and that's just about the scent produced. The petals actually
secrete tiny drops of water, just enough to give a wet sheen and feel to the petals, and tasting the petals reveals a faintly salty flavor.

Guinness Crystal Rose (Earth), aka Heart of the Land - While the other
three Elemental roses are transparent stained glass, the Earth rose is a deep, translucent emerald green (exactly the shade of the Guinness Emerald crystal). It lacks the others' flashier light
displays, just showing a steady, low-level glow by day and night. To the touch, there's only the normal softness of flower petals. But what it lacks in
sight and touch, it more than makes up for in the other three senses. It smells of roses...but also of deep forest, with rich earth and fallen leaves. Traces
of honeysuckle, apple, pear and other fruits can be detected in the scent as well, shifting - first one comes to the fore, then another. Candied petals of this
rose are a real treat, because the flavors are as varied as the smells. There's always the faint taste of rose, but some petals taste more of maple syrup,
others of honey, or apple or even faintly of wine or anise. If any of the roses will tempt a person to eat enough of the petals to cause a biomod, it will be
this one. The flavors differ even between the petals on a single rose, so it's always a surprise. This rose also has the largest, most elaborate sound
chamber of the four, and the sounds and their duration vary at random. Listening closely, you might hear the gentle sound of a babbling brook, or the wind
rustling through the leaves of a wood, or the soft drone of a bee in flight. Although very faint, this rose can even generate more elaborate sounds, like the
drumming of a woodpecker or birdsongs. Standing next to one of these rosebushes and closing one's eyes, it's quite easy to imagine that you're
walking through the woods in summer.
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#2
Oh, this is very cool.

Peggy is a sucker for roses. I wouldn't be surprised if the other wimmenfolk in Our Town were, too.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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#3
Quote:Guinness Crystal Rose (Earth), aka Heart of the Land
As soon as he finds out about these, Noah'll want two. Live bushes, not roses.

Will they be available before May 2013? If "yes," then I know how The Jason will be mentioned in LoGG...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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#4
*nods* The Jason has been working on the Heart roses for some time, so I'd say that yes, they would be available by then. The nice thing about roses is
that they can be reproduced by cuttings. The Heart of the Land is actually a tribute rose as well, for my maternal grandfather. He used to take me for walks
in the woods, showing me the land and the plants, and all the little things. So he would've been working on it early on, even as he considered the others.

The only one he has left to create is the Heart of the Soul, but that's taking time. He knows what he wants to shoot for in the way of appearance, but its
other characteristics are harder. Appearance-wise, it'll be almost the refractive index of air.Not truly invisible, but it will be VERY close. Like the
clearest of glass, and then some. With just a little bit of flickering bioluminescence in a pale blue-white around the edges of the petals, so that it will
look almost like the soul of a rose.
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#5
I would love to have those Heart of Storm Roses. There's a theory that positive and negative ions affect moods, and that's why there's an ill wind
in the desert and people feel better after thunderstorms.
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#6
-- fic-o-vision, timeline: a failed, but so-darn-close-it-hurts Soul Rose --

Captain Corcoran smiled at The Jason as Tom finished the cargo exchange. "Excellent, I do believe these seedlings will net a pretty penny. If these are
your failures, I'm sure the successes will be phenomenal."

The Pseudo-Saiyan looked down at the seedling in his hands. "Perhaps. But I'm reasonably proud of this one, even if it's not what I wanted."

"How so?"

The Jason held up the rose, displaying its almost-not-there bloom. "Near transparent, right?" At Corcoran's nod, he continued, "Watch what
happens when we dim the lights to show the bioluminescence."

The 'wave botanist suited word to deed, and as Corcoran's eyes adjusted to the changed light, a gasp caught in his throat. Various tiny spots of
luminescence appeared in familiar patterns across the bloom, some spots coagulated in large, spiral clusters, others flashed brightly, expanding to several
times their size, before contracting, and drawing nearby motes into them.

"My God," Corcoran stated, mouth suddenly dry, "It's full of stars....."
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll
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#7
*laughs* I'd actually already planned on one like that, though I had it being the black of a midnight sky. The Starlight rose. The transparent variety
would be intriguing too, though.*grin* I have to admit, that tagline was far too good not to use. And the Moonlight rose, one that glows a silvery-white at
night. Eventually I'll post the catalog, and you can see some of the odd ideas that have been popping into my head, rose-wise.

One of the simplest I've done would've been Polgara's Rose, from the Eddings' books. Easy enough to replicate, especially with the help of the
Canvas rose, since you only need the correct color pattern. One long-term project that the Jason has, along with the Shmoo and the Wompom, is trying to create
Adara's Rose from the same books. Not a true rose...but it's certainly interesting, since it's a flower that can cure any poison with its scent.
Bob? Once the Jason figures out the ritual he wants to try for that one, do you think he might be able to interest the GC Wiccans into helping him with it?

*grin* And Bob? Once I get the Heart of the Soul done, the Wiccans might like a complete set. Since Grover's Corners is a perfect circle, basically,
spacing the five around the perimeter of your ship equidistantly, then connecting them with paths would form a protective pentacle that would basically cover
the entire inside of the ship once ritually charged. Useful? And what does Peggy think of the roses?
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#8
Since I mentioned it at the start of the thread, I thought I might as well toss this in as well.

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Space Dandelions

The Jason's affiliation with the Musician's Aid Society (aka the Filkers) is well known. It's been rumored that if the Society does have a habitat
in the works and they name it Space Station Three, he will personally design a tree that produces basket hats of fruit...or at least all the fruits ever found
in Carmen's hats. It's also said that he has the largest personal collection of filk in Fenspace. This belief has only been reinforced by the known
fact that he once sold an Yggdrasil-class worldship hull for a collection of out-of-print Off Centaur Production
tapes, incuding Time Winds Tavern, Yankee Doodles, and Bayfilk Crazies. So when some Belters first reported seeing dandelions growing openly on scattered asteroids in the belt, the
Jason's name went immediately to the top of the list as the cause.

In appearance, the space dandelion resembles its terrestrial relative. Growing in the belt, the leaves are a much darker green, but the flowers are the usual
sunny yellow. However, a lack of atmosphere means that the usually puffball of seeds just won't work. The flowers are self-pollinating, producing a single
seed that is enclosed in a thick capsule of nutrients - both for protection and to help it establish itself. When ready to seed, the flower stalk extends and
two more chambers form beneath the seed chamber. The lowest chamber will then explode - using a similar reaction as found in the bombadier beetle. Some of the
explosions are very weak, serving only to send a seed capsule a short distance before crashing back into the asteroid and starting a new dandelion there.
However, sometimes the reaction is strong enough to overcome the microgravity of the asteroid and send the seed capsule into space. If it does not hit another
asteroid within about a month, the final capsule comes into play. Breaking open, the contents expand...until a meter-wide solar sail is exposed, with the seed
capsule tethered at the center. From there, the seed will ride the solar wind into deep space. Although the odds are infinitesimal, one day the seed capsule
might succeed in hitting an asteroid in another star system...starting the process anew.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure if the solar sail is of use if it's only a meter-wide, but since it only has to carry a seed capsule and not a starship, I figured it was
worth a shot. The sail is VERY thin of course, produced from minerals/metals extracted from the home asteroid. Tiny veins in the sail allow it to expand, much
like a butterfly's wings.

.

Thoughts? Silly, I know...but it seemed something I'd do.
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