Fragrant Plants and Herb Garden

All around you are numerous colourful plants and flowers. There are a thousand perfumes drifting through the air, if only you had time to stop and appreciate it. You spot an elderly man standing by the side of the path. His eyes are red and there is blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. Your heart sinks as you look at him. What if that were your grandfather? Perhaps you made the wrong choice going for the Comfrey. Well it’s too late now. You swallow dryly and pick up the pace, making sure to give him a wide berth. You may not be in the same age group, but you can still catch the disease from him.

You look back and notice he’s trailing behind you. Maybe the infected follow movement? That’s a bit…zombie like. You follow the main path down until you come to an undercover brick area. You take the path leading to the left to try and lose the man trailing behind you, but to no avail. Just as you find the Comfrey (the plant with the wide, green furry leaves) the old man drops to the ground and starts spewing blood and bile. A shiver trickles down your spine. You hold your phone over the Comfrey, open the aptly named ‘Cure’ app and press the massive red ‘scan’ button that appears in the middle of the screen. When you hear the confirmation bleep, you move on… slowly.

You continue along the path you found the Comfrey on and when you come to the intersection you stick to the path on the left. You pass a bunch more infected on your way down the hill. All of them elderly. You haven’t seen one young person who is infected yet. Maybe you were too hasty in your decision.

You receive another message.

New symptoms manifesting. Old (50+) experiencing violent skin rashes and vision impairment. Symptoms are severe and the infection rate of the disease is increasing. We’re starting to lose some of them. You know, death wise. Young (0-50) have chronic fever and vomiting. Symptoms are getting more severe. You look through the list of plants again.

Aloe vera. Can be used to help with rashes, burns, and bruises. Morinda citrifolia, or Noni fruit. If prepared properly, Noni fruit can be used to treat many symptoms, including vomiting, abdominal pain and mild fevers.

You can hear the old man dragging his legs on the path behind you. He’s getting closer, and you don’t want to be in range of any bodily fluids when he does. Time is running out.

Do you:

Arid Region Plants: Locate the Aloe vera? This will help protect you, but it may forsake the older generation. Follow the path down the hill. When you come to a major entrance to the Gardens and the restaurant on your left, turn right. The Arid Region Plants will be in front of you.

OR

Tropical Dome: Locate the Noni fruit? It looks like it’s only the older generations that are wandering the Botanic Gardens and the streets. If you find a cure for their symptoms first, it’s less likely there will be anyone around to infect you. And you’d save more lives too, including the life of the man trailing behind you, your most immediate threat. Of course, you may then be opening yourself up to infection. Follow the path down the hill. You will soon see a big hexagonal dome rising up out of the landscape. Proceed towards the entrance and enter the dome.