A Botanical Daughter

It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon andGregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in theirglass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London,they are free to follow their own interests without interference. ForSimon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop,working his taxidermical art. Gregor?s business is exotic plants ?lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, astrange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he?sseen, inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life fromplant matter.Driven by the glory he?ll earn from the Royal Horticultural Society forsuch an achievement, Gregor ignores the flaws in his plan: thatintelligence cannot be controlled; that plants cannot be reasonedwith; and that the only way his plant-beast will flourish is if he usesa recently deceased corpse for the substrate.