The officials exchanged blank glances. They were politicians—masters of manipulation, experts in rhetoric, fluent in the language of power and deceit.
But plants? Vegetables? They didn't even know what was in their own refrigerators!
Mika didn't mock their ignorance.
"It's quite all right if you haven't heard of it. It's not a common plant. Overlooked, really, by most people."
His eyes gleamed.
"But there's something very interesting about it."
The officials leaned in despite themselves, curiosity deepening.
Mika gestured toward the large monitor at the front of the hall. A series of crisp diagrams and photographs appeared on screen: a modest bush-like plant with unassuming green leaves growing along riverbanks and lake edges.
"This plant usually grows near riverbeds, lakes, or any large body of water because it needs an enormous amount of water—far more than normal plants. And the way it extracts that water is through these massive roots."
