About the series
Year 2050. After the explosion of a dangerous agent in a company dedicated to plant protection products, the plants themselves gained the ability to move around freely and act upon their desires. They mutated, started to spread in human cities and settlements, cutting people out of sunlight and water. Those who had been taking care of plants were chased off. Trees didn’t let the humans cut them down; instead, they sent the animals to attack people. Survivors then created small, secluded colonies in which they were able to thrive. Those colonies are scattered all across Europe.
The incident had affected not only plants but also humans themselves. Those who were later born within the explosion’s range had their DNA altered. Each time one of them is born, a scent of a particular plant lingers in the air. These creatures – half humans, half plants – are able to communicate with flora, talk to the plants or even summon them. They’re also capable of developing a bond with herbivores. This mutation was called the Green Gene, and the people affected with it – the Green Fingers possessors.
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In the 23rd century, the city of Jorden was built. This metropolis was like mother to other cities, like Vand and Bjerg.
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Apart from the people who wanted to save humanity from complete extinction, there came forth also those who accepted neither the ordinary, non-mutated humans nor humanity in its entirety. This destructive fraction had been called “the Poisoners”. They possess the ability to connect with toxic plants and – mostly – dangerous animals; they started to shape the environment in such a way to get rid of those who didn’t fit in their vision of the world.
To save humans from the peril which aroused from nature and oppose the Poisoners, a special unit by the name of the Gardeners was founded. They were tasked with protecting the civilians and using their Green Fingers in the name of good. Since then, Poisoners and Gardeners are much like yin-yang – contradictory forces which are caught up in an unceasing conflict.
Non-mutated humans aren’t helpless, though. An application known as the BIO-IDENTIFIER was invented to allow them to learn more about the flora and help them understand the plants’ needs better. The device scans a plant in question and then searches for a match in its database. Thus, the user can find out what plant they’re dealing with.
BIO-identifier
BIO-IDENTIFIER (BI-band) is an application which allows its users to communicate with a specific plant (Green Fingers-affected humans) or recognize it (non-mutated humans).
The application is being continuously updated and compared with scientific data regarding plant species that still undergo mutation.
In the case of possessors of Green Fingers:
The BI-band is a small wristband worn by the user. The application is then able to connect to their DNA, which in result allows to recognize the species which the user belongs to. Those affected by Green Fingers are in fact capable of communicating with their native plant species purely through physical contact (e.g. by touching the plant) and they don’t need the BI-band for this purpose; however, they’re legally obliged to do so, in order to help the scientists revise and update information and protect the ordinary humans.
In the case of non-mutated people:
The BI-band helps identify the respective plant species and warns of potential danger.
BIO-IDENTIFIER’s features:
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recognizes 50 000+ of existing plant species;
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contains up-to-date maps which mark the respective plants’ habitats (application users can add new location points, which then are carefully reviewed by the Gardeners or other veteran Green Fingers possessors / scientists);
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contains descriptions of plants, the amount of their toxicity (if any), information on their origin and basic facts; also informs of the plants’ properties and usability (e.g. whether the fruits are edible);
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includes a well-developed taxonomy database;
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provides information on plants’ needs and vulnerabilities: possible diseases, working pesticides, etc.;
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allows to diagnose illness of a plant (when used by a Green Fingers possessor, this feature will both diagnose a disease and suggest how to cure it);
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contains information for allergy sufferers;
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has a FAQ section. Users can also ask new questions to which qualified scientists and/or Gardeners will immediately reply. BI-band has access to research facilities, too.
Additionally, the application is connected to a local meteorological station (depends on the user’s location) and, in turn, warns about the changing weather and current conditions. This includes alerts about the acid rains, harmful for both people and plants. Plants can partially mutate when exposed to the rain (this also affects the Green Fingers users), while humans’ health significantly decreases: painful skin lesions, shortness of breath and other symptoms resembling a poisoning can appear. In the worst case, acid rain causes death. Those with the Green Fingers gene also have to be wary of rains, even though they have the ability to regenerate much faster.
BIO-IDENTIFIER doesn’t guarantee 100% accuracy (concerning both the plants’ recognition and weather forecast); its correctness varies between 90% and 95%, which is a standard error probability.
The application is being constantly updated thanks to data collected by scientists and their cooperation with those affected with Green Fingers, as their connection to nature helps to better understand the plants, their needs, etc.
Generations
Social groups
The world after the Green Plague is inhabited mainly by Syndyro, although there are also humans, homo sapiens, who have not been genetically mutated and have retained the typically human genes.
The syndyro of fighting each other can be divided into two fractions - Gardeners and Poisoners.
Gardeners - Syndyro who stay in contact with plants considered harmless or medicinal, such as herbs. These units completed special schools that prepared them to live in the Syndyro community, as well as to fight the Poisoners.
Poisoners - villains and rebels, renegades rejected by society, under whose control there are plants considered toxic or harmful. They live in the so-called Underground. They use aliases, Poisoners' real names are unknown to the public.
Quackers, herbalists - medics, Syndyro who know lots about modern medicine.
People - they have not mutated. Some of them belong to the Planters, keepers of the social order (the police, security, etc).
Neutrals - humans not involved in any conflict; Syndyro who do not use their Green Hands for any purpose.
In the world of Syndyro, four generations are known for the level of connection between a creature and plants.
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Generation I : These are beings completely overwhelmed by plants that have merged with (merged) with them after the eruption and became plants during their lifetime, losing their free will and sense of self as human beings. They don't look like humans anymore. What distinguishes them from 100% of plants is the ability to communicate telepathically with members of the next generations. It was the First Generation that spread throughout the world, leading to further interbreeding between humans and plants (the so-called Green Plague). The only thing that can kill the first generation is to cut off such a Syndyron from water, food and light (sun) so that it cannot photosynthesize.
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Generation II : These are those whose strongest ancestors managed to survive the Green Plague without mutating into a plant, and their DNA only partially mutated. They have free will and look like humans, although they have taken the phenotype from plants - eye and hair colors, climate choice, etc. They can communicate with the First Generation and control it from the outside. Most of the Gardeners are Second Generation, which means that they can control plants from the outside (telepathic communication), thereby encouraging their species to cooperate.
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Generation III : The Third Generation Syndyro looks like humans, but more often takes the appearance of plants (growing or discolouring hair, body parts are associated with flowers, etc) and is more dependent on climate change. They are responsible for control from within and their gifts cannot always be easily associated with belonging to a given species (e.g. singing, taking water from the environment).
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Generation IV : These individuals are able to control plants outside of their species by telepathically linking to the so-called Syndyron Zero, the prototype of modern Syndyro. Until now, the world has known no successor. Over the years, attempts were made to create an equivalent of Syndyron Zero (however, as it turned out, it was an extremely painful process and many individuals from previous generations died as a result, so modern scientists - the moral ones - have abandoned this research).