I hadn’t, but the information flowed into my subconscious in a nanosecond. “Biomimicry is the conscious emulation of nature; the study of how organisms resolve their specific challenges through their programmed DNA.”

“You recite the definition, only your words lack belief.”

“Not at all. I’m a firm believer in evolution.”

“This is beyond evolution; it is evolution with intent, a divine plan at work.”

“That sounds a bit like religion to me.”

“Religion causes strife; what I am referring to is spiritual harmony. Take this garden. What we’ve created is a balanced environment where humans, animals, and plants can thrive in a symbiotic relationship. Most horticulturists prefer to take complete control of their gardens, exterminating every insect while weeding every dandelion that pops up. In doing so, they disrupt the flow of nature. To a gardener, the dandelion may simply be a weed; to a healer, it is a powerful herb that can be used for medicinal purposes. Pesticides kill insects but they also add toxin to the fruit. And while certain insects are harmful, good insects are exterminated in the mix—insects whose presence can enhance the garden and control the harmful pests without the use of poisons.”

She pointed to a flower. “The flying duck orchid. Notice how its petal resembles a female wasp. This is nature in harmony. Fooled by the design, the male wasp will attempt to copulate with the orchid; in doing so it picks up the pollen and transports it to another flower. Nature keeps the Earth in a balanced state; it is only man who takes more than he needs, refusing to share with his fellow creatures. Only man wages war on the environment, setting fire to the very ship he needs to stay afloat.”

Removing the apron, she poured the remains of the fish food back into a container resembling a rock. “Before the Great Die-Off, I worked with a team of botanists on a project called the Gondwana Link, an ancient biodiversity hot spot that spanned half a million square kilometers in southwestern Australia. Thousands of unique plant species thrived in its eucalyptus forest, which has remained free of glacial activity for tens of millions of years. Our team wanted to secure seed banks for the most threatened species of flora and fauna before climate change drove them into extinction.