Cress (The Story of a Plantsim)

[Sutz]

Author's Note: When I heard that Sims 3 Plantsims were genetic clones of the person who picked them, it got me thinking. The Landgraab Clones of Lunar Lakes are one of my favourite pre-made families because I love science fiction and particularly stories about genetic creations, and it's such a unique idea for a story. The concept of Plantsims finally gave me a way to tell a story about the Landgraab Clones.

In this story, the lead is the only Plantsim because it's a species that's just been created – don't expect her to find a secret society of them living in the forest. So sit back, and I hope you enjoy the story.



Christina Landgraab had been messing around in her laboratory again. She had samples of nearly every single lifeform that was within easy access to her. She was minus more exotic DNA like leopards and orang-utans and such, but you couldn't really expect miracles when she wasn't exactly employed by a big organisation to do her science. Her three children: Chris, Christa and Chrissie, were the results of experimentation earlier in her life. Christina had always wanted a family, but hadn't really been prepared to devote the time and effort to finding – and keeping – a male mate. So she had simply cloned herself instead. She considered this the ideal solution, though her children themselves had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

Christina still had a sample of her own DNA left over from the cloning process, and she had today attempted to combine it with the DNA of the mystical Life Fruit, a plant with quite remarkable restorative properties. She hoped that eventually she may be able to form a cure for human injuries and disease.

What actually happened surprised her.



She extracted from the machine a curious-looking fruit. Part of her yearned to dissect it, but when she held it in her hands, she could have sworn she felt it pulsing between her fingers, as if it were more than just a plant.

So, being a scientist and not one to let the grass grow beneath her feet, she decided to plant it and see what happened.




“I don't know why you even think something will happen, Mother,” said Chrissie skeptically soon after their mother had planted the strange fruit in a flowerpot in the dining room (for easy access). “That thing's just a messy mish-mash of genetic material. I'm surprised you think it's alive at all. It's certainly not going to grow if you've taken enough plant DNA out of it.”
“We'll just have to wait and see, won't we,” said her mother.

[Sutz]

Chrissie was quite used to her mother not taking her warnings about messing around with nature seriously, and she was pretty sure that the fruit would soon rot away and that would be the end of it.

But Chrissie was wrong.



Over the next few months, the fruit became a shoot which grew taller and grew strong leaves, taking in the sunlight that poured through the dining window.



Christina took careful care of the little plant, watering and fertilising it, but when at the end of six months nothing particularly exciting had happened, she decided to examine its roots.
What she discovered made her almost drop the plant.



Quickly she put it back in the pot and surrounded it with earth again, terrified that she had damaged it. But the plant grew just as well as before, so after a couple more weeks, Christina dared to take another look.

It was rather like watching a tadpole grow out of a single frogspawn, for instead of just being a potato with a human face, the fruit was now growing arms and legs. Every time Christina checked it over a period of three months, it looked more and more like a human baby.
Finally, nine months after she planted the fruit, she pulled it up and the human-shaped root let out a loud cry. Once again, Christina nearly dropped the plant.
The creature had taken its first breath, and Christina figured that putting it back in the soil would suffocate it, so instead she held it, gently cradling it.



The infant was a female, and Christina realised that it contained a good amount of her own DNA. This technically made it her child, just as much as Chrissie, Christa and Chris were. She felt a rush of maternal love for it. Fetching a towel to clean it, she took it to her children.

Their reactions were mixed at best. Chris wasn't really sure what to make of his new sister. Christa, up til then the youngest and most placid of the children, was thrilled.
But middle child Chrissie was horrified.



“What have you done, mother?” she demanded. “It's bad enough that you created us just as clones of yourself to fuel your own ego, but at least we're still fully human! This creature... we don't even know what it is!”
“She is a miracle,” said Christina. “She may give us valuable insight into the inner workings of both plant and human nature. She may be able to help us develop medicines previously thought beyond the capabilities of science!”
“How could you force something like that on an innocent child?”
Christina stood her ground. “Whatever happens,” she said. “This child will always know love and compassion. I trust you three to take care of her and be the best siblings you can be to her.”
“Whatever,” said Chrissie. “Sometimes you make me sick, Mother,” and she stormed out of the room.



Christa hesitated, partly wanting to call back her twin, but she could see Chrissie's point. She decided to focus on her newest sister instead.
“So what will we name her?” she asked.
“We're running a little short on 'Chris' names,” said Chris dryly.
Christina thought for a long time. “But she isn't just a 'Chris',” she mused. “She is part plant too.” At last she nodded. “She will be Cressilia, Cress for short.”
“Cress?” repeated Chris. “Seriously?” But he knew from his mother's expression that she wasn't to be argued with.
Christa just grinned, hugging her sister close. “Then welcome to the world, little Cress.”



*Second Author's Note: Yes, I know Cress is initially dressed in a BOY'S baby blanket but  for some obscure reason the game insisted on giving me a male plantbaby even when I fertilized the plant with watermelon several times. Also, I actually thought the blue blanket looked a bit better, especially since the Landgraab Clones is a very blue-oriented household. So I assure you she's a girl and she'll become one permanently as soon as she becomes a toddler.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and please comment and let me know what you think of the story

[Swirl-Girl]

Intriguing. I'll be reading. Good job Sutz!

[Sugarnibble]

Oooh! I'm excited as to what happens next!

[Louise56]

Very interesting story! I love the Plantsims.

[Audren]

I haven't had the opportunity to explore the PlantSims yet, so I'll be reading this story with fresh eyes. 

[Sutz]

Little Cress grew fast (to her mother. Any outsider would have seen she was growing at the same rate as any human baby, but Christina hadn't had to raise an infant for a while.)

Right from the very beginning, the family knew that her plant DNA had affected Cress on many levels. The first panic was when she kept refusing her bottle. The family thought that she would starve, but days and days passed and Cress never weakened and never developed an illness. None of them could work out what was going on, until they realised that Cress's crib was right in the sunlight, and she seemed to enjoy baths a lot more than most babies.



"She photosynthesizes!" exclaimed Christina in elation. "Her skin is green with chlorophyll. She must take in light from the sun, and water from her baths and make it into food for herself!"
Christina made sure from that day on that Cress had a bath every day to keep her well hydrated, and recorded her findings. Many scientists wanted to come and see Cress to study her, but Christina was uncharacteristically protective of her newest daughter. She felt it was important to only do tests on the child when she was old enough to understand what they were for, and to say 'no' if she wanted to.
Of course, that didn't stop Christina from running a few, unobtrusive scans herself.



Cress was a fascinating child. Apart from not eating, she functioned much like a normal human infant. She laughed, gurgled, cooed, all the usual things babies do. She learned to walk and talk, though as she didn't eat anything, she never seemed to need to use the potty either.



Cress had been bald straight out of the pot in which she was born (the plant stalk and leaves in the top of her head had withered and fallen off just days after birth), but as she grew into a toddler, she began to grow tiny bright green shoots on her head, much like young grass. Christina liked to tie a bow around her daughter's head to keep the shoots in place, but for the most part she was happy to just let Cress wander around in nothing but a nappy that Christa had woven out of leaves.

[Louise56]

Cress is such a cutie! Great update.

[WickedSimmer87]

Yay Finally plantSim gets to be in the spotlight in stories! I quite liked your story, so bookmarked it 

[Swirl-Girl]

Hm. I'm interested in how she grows. Odd that I feel so much like a scientist.

[Anna33]

Great story so far, I love Cress.

[chetanhaobijam]

Hi, this is a great story. I very much like plantsims. And it will be fun and knowledgeable reading this plant sim story. So, it is Bookmarked. Waiting for next story/update.
Chetan.

[Sutz]

The years flew by, and Cress grew into a beautiful, yet undeniably strange child.



The tiny, grass-like shoots that had grown on her head in infancy had now grown into proper leaves, which twined themselves around her head instead of hair. She had even grown a tiny flower.



Christina had attempted to get Cress into human clothes, but Cress found ordinary cloth hot and uncomfortable. Her skin was too sensitive. So Christa and Cress worked together with one of the native plants of Lunar Lakes to create suitable clothes, at least to keep her modesty. Cress didn't sweat and was a very clean child (largely stemming from the fact that she didn't eat), so it wasn't hard to keep these clothes clean day after day. They had almost become a part of herself.



Christina was more astounded by Cress' development every day. She kept careful record of her child's biology, performing regular scans, but every scan perplexed her more than the one before it. Cress's human and plant DNA had fused to the core and there wasn't even a hint of rejection from either side. She wondered if she had actually created a new species.



Cress didn't admit it to other people, but her favourite sibling by far was Christa. Christa took her job as an older sister very seriously indeed and was always around to make sure the little plant-child was safe and happy. She helped her with her homework, played with her and generally did all the things a very good big sister does.



Cress and Chrissie had a trickier relationship. Chrissie wasn't exactly hostile, but she remained aloof and barely spoke to their mother at all. It seemed she was trying to distance herself from the family.

As for their older brother, he was getting ready to fly the nest. For the past two years, he had been dating a very attractive albino known as Selene Goddess whom he had met through college. She was a nurse and both were attempting to get a career established before they married and moved away for good.



Christina liked Selene and very much approved of her, but Chris's imminent departure made her very sad. She had hoped that Chris would stay on and help her in her scientific studies. Chris had had other ideas: he had decided on a career in politics, particularly specialising in trade with the homeworld, Earth. Letting go of her firstborn and accepting that he had his own life was proving very hard for Christina.

However, she still had her three daughters, and she and Cress were growing closer every day. She knew she'd manage somehow.



Author's Note: The main plot will kick in soon. Comments are much appreciated. They let me know the story is being read and enjoyed.

[Swirl-Girl]

Cress is so adorable!

[Gogowars329]

I've only experienced playing an adult PlantSim so this is making me want him to have children!