"They wanted to put us under pressure," Drex said. "That's why they tormented us."

---0---

"Doctor, I know this is a sensitive subject with you, but is it possible to get a plant to hate someone?" Drex asked.

"You sound as if you want me to resume my bad habits, boy?" Duro asked, but he smiled and went on "To do that, you would have to make the plant detect the person it is supposed to hate, There are all sorts of ways to make a plant react. Detecting its target is the hardest part. The cattle tick reacts to ammonia in an animal's perspiration. Within a fraction of a second, it can go from a dormant state to wide awake, and launch itself into the air to land on its target."

"I'm not sure the guards sweat enough to make ammonia. The plant would probably attack the boys." Zak observed. He took another glass tube from the rack and started heating it over the burner. "You'd have to get a plant that could tell the difference between boys and men."

Duro sat back in his chair. "You hate them that much?" he asked.

"Yes." Drex said.

"One day, you too will be a man. Will you hate yourself, Drex?"

"I don't want to be a man - ever. I would rather die first."

Duro was surprised by the turn this conversation had taken. The boys had been badly abused, but he couldn't see the connection between abuse and the desire to remain young forever. Surely the main advantage of growing up, would be that it is harder to abuse someone who is big than someone who is small.

"It may be possible to stop you from entering puberty. You'll need to take hormones to prevent the pituitary gland from producing testosterone and the other hormones that bring on adolescence." Duro mused, "But there are difficulties in that. To grow up, you must go through puberty. Your thinking changes into adult mode when that happens. When you are big, the guards won't want to mis-treat you. It's easier to bully someone who is small."

"But - can you do it for us?" Zak asked. "For a while, anyway."

The doctor looked at them. For their age, thirteen, they were already small, with growth stunted from long periods of starvation. He could stop them from growing, but to delay puberty? He wasn't sure that it would be possible. He doubted that it would be wise. Finally, he gave in to the bizarre request.

"All right. I'll fix it so you remain small for a few years more. Puberty will kick in eventually. It's hard to stop," he said.

---0---

Drex and Zak spent their spare time designing a tree that would have wickedly sharp and long thorns - thorns which could grow quickly and would be strong enough to penetrate almost anything.

Zak specialised in adding branches that moved by losing water pressure suddenly at the limb joints - in the same way that a Venus Fly Trap closed its leaves in on its victims. In fact, because the mechanism already existed in sensitive weeds and other plants, Zak managed to produce a small bush that moved its branches on contact. "Touch it, and it folds itself up," he said proudly, showing the tiny pot plant to Duro.

"Well done, Zak," Duro said. Now we only need to put Drex's thorns on it, and you've got a tiny killer. A botanical mouse-trap."

"We don't have mice on Sahara," Zak pointed out to him seriously.

"And a very good job that is, too," Duro said. "Imagine the damage that would cause to all the crops."

That night, Drex took a small sample of tissue from the plant and fused cells from it to the cells of his thorn plant. Carefully, he extracted the resulting DNA sequences and incorporated them into the tissue from one of the large branched trees that grew along the boundary fence. He sealed the resulting cells into nutrient solution in a flask, and pushed it to the back of the work bench.

---0---

The Governor wasn't slow at making suggestions. Doctor Duro often had to attend the administration block in order to spend sessions explaining why certain ideas were not practical.

"Duro, I must thank you for the tropical fruit project. It's going well."

"Thank you, Sir. The plant accepts DNA easily, but the results aren't always quite what we want. I must say, the idea of having it produce fabricated metal parts is interesting, but ..."

"Not possible, eh? I heard that some sea-worms were capable of plating their teeth with iron. Now it seems that if a worm can handle iron, you might get a plant to do that."

"Well, as a matter of fact, one of my young assistants is trying to get a variant to grow thorns with hematite in the tips. There's lots of iron in vegetables, but the soil isn't rich in it - so it takes a long time. We are working on it. As for bearings, that may take a bit longer."

"You're telling me it can't be done?"

"I'm suggesting that a small steel mill and a shot tower might give cheaper and better results. I'm sure we could grow very small crystals of iron in a tree, but to guarantee they would be perfect spheres or strong enough to withstand shock - that I cannot do."

"What's with the thorn tree?"

"Cheap and easy security fencing. Also, the wood is extremely tough and millable. You get timber. Hardwood, in fact."

"Really, That is excellent, Doctor. Do you need any more facilities or assistance?"

"Well there is the matter of expanding. I could do with two more assistants - apprentices, if you like. Drex and Zak are able to do a lot of research on their own, now. In fact, Drex and Zak created the thorn trees. It would help me if I could begin to train two more boys. I'm looking for brains, Governor, not behaviour problems or old lags."

"There's a new shipment of lads that we're just breaking in. Some of them come from a boys' military school that got itself too well allied with the rebel forces on Dagron IV. Seems that part of the Galaxy wants to succeed from the Empire. I'll look up their records and find two little nerds for you. The Imperial council imprisoned the whole school - many of their parents are well placed in Dagronian society. To put it bluntly, Duro, they're hostages."

"May the Empire live for ever, Governor."

"Amen to that. You are dismissed."

Duro saluted and turned sharply on his heels to march out. Governor Sartor waited until he had gone before calling his assistant, Godwell into the office.

"Ah, Godwell. Bring me the database on our last intake - the boys from Martyrs' College. I want to break two of them in so they can serve the Empire, and I must choose them carefully."

---0---

The Governor saw to it that Dorfus and Rodek, the nerds chosen from Martyrs' College, served four weeks in the punishment block before being handed over to Duro as extra workers. When the boys finally arrived at the plant nursery, Duro estimated that they wouldn't be ready for any sort of work in less than a month. They shuffled nervously into the main shed, where the guards left them.

"Compliments of the Governor," Butreck said, "And mind they don't do a runner."

Nobody had bothered to remove their handcuffs or leg irons. They were dirty, bruised, battered, and sick.

Drex and Zak took them to the shower room, where they removed their loincloth rags and washed them down as gently as they could.

"Come on - We know what you've been through. Zak and I have spent many weeks in the cages. I must say they really did a number on both of you."

"They say it's because we're rebel scum," Rodek said in a soft whisper.

Their cuts and bruises were covered with slices of plant that acted as antiseptic and healing agent. They were taken to the bunk room, and allowed to rest. In the extreme heat, they lay on the rubberised shelving in pools of perspiration.

Looking in from the doorway, Drex muttered under his breath: "One day, they'll pay for all of this."

"Dorfus told me that the college boys are getting 'special treatment' - starvation diet, no medical attention, and frequent beatings. They're being made to work on the roads in a chain gang during the mid - day heat spell." Zak said in a whisper at tea.

Drex looked up at the supposedly hidden Security camera and microphone in the roof beams of the shed, then looked carefully at both Zak and Duro. He yawned, covering his mouth, he whispered "I know. I know, I know I know." Then he took his hands away and said "And how was your day, Doc?"

"Now that we have our two new recruits, I'm hoping we'll be able to increase production of the Coconut trees. I'm hoping to put a plantation of them along the beach. They should do well in the salt water."

The conversation ran on and on about salinity levels, the many uses of coconut trees, and propagation statistics. It was designed to bore anyone listening in, and Drex was sure it had worked. At least they had two more recruits, and Drex was sure they weren't going to be the last.

---(*)---

They obtained a flitter - a small ground effect glider with a light jet engine running on compressed hydrogen. Drex and Zak would sometimes go to the fields to deliver stores. They had the chance to watch the college boys at work. Each boy wore fetters joining his ankles a short chain-length apart. A stiff wire cable stretched across the field. Each of the boys straddled it, so it passed between their legs and over the fetter chains, trapping the chain gang, and keeping them all in line as they hoed or dug the ground to form furrows. When a furrow was satisfactory, the guards moved the ends of the cable to the next set of pegs, one furrow forward.

The boys worked all day, stopping only for drinks, a meal at noon, and random time off to relieve themselves in the furrows. It was stupid work that took days whereas a tractor could do the same job in an hour or so.

Sometimes, in the extreme heat, a boy would collapse, and the guards would beat and electro-shock the unconscious prisoner fiercely. Only if he did not respond, would they unlock a fetter to remove him from his place in the line. Then they placed the unconscious boy on a trailer, which was pulled back to camp by a couple of the strongest boys, supervised by a guard.

Drex drove to the guards' tent and unloaded the boxes of seedlings.

"What are you bringing us today, Drex?" Gaston, the head guard asked, as the boy struggled to line the seedling boxes neatly.

"Cotton, Sir. The governor is keen to start growing fibre. He hopes we can begin to spin it and eventually we will be able to make our own cloth. Here, feel how soft this is," He said, handing over a roll of cotton wool. "See how absorbent it is?" Drex asked, wiping some perspiration carefully from Gaston's face.

"Does he know how much work is involved in that?" Baston mused, playing with the soft fibre. He handed it back to Drex, who replaced it in its plastic packet. Baston grinned at him. "If Duro is so smart, why doesn't he work out a way of getting the plant to weave its own cloth?" he asked.

Drex grinned back. "If you like, I'll put the idea to him," he said.

He gave a friendly wave as he drove away. At last he had his scent sample, and could finish off the task of getting the trees to tell the difference between men and boys. He looked on all of the guards as enemies. To him, they were tyrants doing their job with refined cruelty, and even though their lives were not much better than that of the boys, he had no sympathy for them. Even so, he had to hide his feelings, so he smiled and waved cheerfully, aware that almost all of his life - especially in prison - he was living a lie.

Duro was amused by the cotton cloth suggestion. "Nature is pretty clever, Drex. DNA can create almost anything. Consider your eye. That is a most complex structure."

For a moment, Drex's head spun. Hadn't he heard this before?

"We know the sequence that builds it." Duro carried on. "In fact, we know the sequence that can build a whole clone of you. Coconut trees and palm trees surround themselves with sheets of fabric - palm bark. I'm sure we could integrate that pattern, or something similar, into the fibres within the cotton pods. The pods would have to be very much bigger, of course - the size of large gourds.

Drex looked at the maze of frozen tubing that made Duro's DNA synthesizer. In the corner was an old generator from a scrapped truck. At last, they had a device that could fuse different cells using an electric charge. Zak was becoming an accomplished glass blower, and Drex showed a lot of promise as a lab technician. Rodek and Dorfus were rapidly learning the skills of lab technicians. With Duro's knowledge, the five of them were becoming a respected team.

The younger boys were still suffering from the traumatic time they had in the punishment cells. Sometimes, at night, they would cry out in their sleep and wake from terrible nightmares. Drex and Zak often had to sit with them, holding them close while they shivered in fear. Gradually, the boys built a sense of trust in their older mentors, but it took a very long time before they would allow casual contact without flinching, and months before they would join in natural conversations at lunch breaks or other times.

Duro managed to get the cotton boll to elongate, then to become a very long gourd. It had taken months of slow, patient work. The woven fabric within the gourd came out as a roll of cloth, enclosing seeds and short stapled kapok that served to separate the layers within the roll. The kapok was used to line mattresses and pillows.

The Governor was ecstatic. Cloth trees soon dotted the landscape, and the prison uniform shortage was solved. Not only that, but the cloth was an exportable product - the first trade item produced by the colony.

Drex managed to plant his thorn trees. Some, he placed around the perimeter of the camp. He loaded the flitter and took a planter box of the seedlings into the forest, and placed them in a line across the path to the beach, leaving a gap that people could pass through safely. He also planted them at random within the mile wide forest so they could be anywhere within Yanada's bio field.

The overall plant was one of their major triumphs. It had taken them two years to build the sequences of DNA that created a complete garment within a living seed pod. At first, their creations were unstable, but careful breeding and ruthless controls gradually tamed the process.

They formed a tube of cloth within a gourd, then added two smaller tubes for arms, and two for legs. Shaping the tubes was harder. They had to tweak the protein scaffolding that maintained the plant's DNA so that it could create a more sophisticated shape. Collars, cuffs, and pockets followed. Finally, they allowed the formation of proto-boots at the ends of the legs.

By making the overall shape slightly less defined, but engineering the plant fabric to be malleable, they created the means by which the wearer would shape the garments to their bodies while the thick, tough fabric was wet. This was especially important for moulding the shoes on the end of the legs so they could fit the feet. They allowed for variations in size and color, but kept the pods as stable as they could.

It was hard work getting the overalls out of the seedpod, removing the kapok, and getting the garment to fit by washing it in water and wearing it as it shrunk on.

Dorfus and Rodek were useful as experimental subjects. They didn't complain, but worked hard on the project, harvesting the pods and unpacking the internal results, disposing of any failures, and even volunteering to wear them in. They insisted that the overalls were actually more comfortable than the Imperial Supplied versions. They were soft, but hard-wearing and durable.

The clothing plants had to be grown near a source of running water, and in the desert environment, this was not easy to find. The boys eventually found a valley near a very flat rocky outcrop, about a kilometer across. The gully, which was fed by a gentle stream that ran over rocky ground, was steep and shady. It was about forty kilometers from the prison, and they took half a day to travel to it. The boys planted thorn and food trees along the banks, and several overall trees.

Duro wanted to propagate several trees, which he said had 'interesting properties'. He did not elaborate, but Drex knew he had been working on his own project, for putting intelligence within the trees, for months.

Zak produced a small ground hugging plant that he called a 'latex lilly'. It wormed its way into the sand and pushed up a bowl shaped flower that oozed raw rubber into its large cup. Prisoners were sent out to collect it - a messy job, as the rubber often hardened on the surface, and only liquefied when vibrated roughly. The rubber was very useful, and it allowed the colonists to begin manufacturing small machines, and even rubber tires for ground vehicles.

---0---

Changes were also afoot within the prison system. Many of the older boys had learnt trades and graduated from ditch digging and shovel ploughing to being machine operators, mechanics, clerks, and boat builders. The Governor was under pressure to give these successful prisoners some sort of parole so they could live outside of the compound, and be responsible for their own care and welfare. This would also reduce the drain on prison resources.

For their service to the colony, Drex and Zak were re-classified as "civilian employees", but Duro, who was serving a life sentence without benefit of parole, had to remain a prisoner - in a technical sense, at least. The boys dressed in colourful clothes as befitted their new rank, and moved into a furnished apartment in the staff village. They were supervised by a retired guard, who was supposed to see they kept their apartment clean, but he never showed much interest in them.

Every day, however, they reported for duty at the prison, changed back into their new plant-derived navy blue overalls, and set to work modifying the plants to create food, milk, finer fabric, and medications. The genetic bounty seemed limitless. By now, both boys had an excellent grasp of genetics and bio-engineering. By the time they turned fifteen, they had their bio-science degrees from the galactic university, and a certain amount of notoriety as "Convicts made good."

At about 140cm in height, they seemed to be very young looking for their age, but their documentation was clear - that was their real age. Duro had done his own genetic manipulation of the boys, and thus far, his private scheme had worked really well. He was working on a one-shot pill that would keep them young forever. It was a difficult process, but it promised to be a veritable fountain of youth.

---0---

The civil war had been in the background for a long time, but came to New Sahara suddenly. The Space Station, which served as a staging post for incoming prisoners, stores, and the transit of various staff members and officials, exploded without apparent cause. Any evidence as to why it failed so suddenly was wiped out, as the huge wheel disintegrated and plunged into Sahara's atmosphere. Much of the debris was burned during re-entry, but some large pieces survived, including the two reactors that were designed to keep their integrity, even in the face of such a dramatic eventuality.

Within a month, an Imperial Battle fleet appeared in orbit over New Sahara, and military shuttles began to descend. At first, the military operation did not impact on the prison, but soon, military patrols replaced the guard patrols around the town, and there was general talk of a military take-over.

There was a town meeting in the community hall. All the men, save those on actual guard duty, were required to attend. Drex, Zak, Dorfus, and Rodek sat in the front row along with the Governor and chief guards. The Governor introduced the new Commandant of New Sahara, Colonel Krag.

His remarks were very brief, and Krag took the podium.

"People of New Sahara - I guess I don't have to say Ladies and Gentlemen, so I won't mess around. Men, The Empire needs you. It needs New Sahara as well - now more than ever. This planet, small and insignificant as it has been, is the major supplier of vital commodities, including foodstuffs, fabrics, and uniforms, to the Imperial Battle Fleet. It is so important, that we have been sent here to protect you. I have been put in charge here. My men in Division Zero take their orders from me.

"This planet is to become the major supplier of military rations. We will be importing labor - prisoners of war - to work on the farms. Terraforming is no longer a priority. Production is. The current guards are under conscription - their skills are needed elsewhere. The Military will run the prison, and this town will become a military base as of now.

"There being no need for any questions, I suggest you all return to your abodes and pack. You will be leaving for your induction into the space force on the first available transports - with a few exceptions. We require the geneticists to remain here. Their work will become classified, and they will work under the command of our bio-warfare section.

Drex placed his face in his hands and rubbed his forehead anxiously "Oh, shit," he muttered.

The governor asked them to sit where they were while everyone else left the hall. The boys stood as Colonel Krag stepped off the dais and walked over to them.

"So these are the genetic engineers?" he said, looking at them speculatively. "Why, Sartor, they're hardly more than boys. In fact they are just boys." He turned to Drex. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen, Sir."

"Don't look more than twelve."

"They're all bio-artifacts, Colonel," The Governor said quietly. "Their size and age has been frozen for - administrative purposes."

"How many genetic engineers are there?"

"Twenty-four, Colonel, and an assigned prisoner who is their - mentor - shall we say. A prisoner can not supervise civilians, but in this case ..."

"Doctor Duro, I presume."

"That is so, Colonel."

"Hmmm. No wonder you've been so quiet about this for so long. We want to take shipments of your plants so that we can use them elsewhere. Don't worry. They will be well cared for. We have very competent scientists in our fleet."

"The plants don't seem to do well elsewhere, Sir. It's been tried before,"

Krag turned on Zak, almost spitting in fury at the boys' comment. "One thing you'll learn, Boy, is that when I tell someone to do something, they do it, and do it well. The plants will be re-located, and they will survive. Do you have anything to add?"

"No, Sir. I'll pass on your sentiments," Zak said. The Colonel walked off with the governor, and as soon as he was out of hearing range, he turned to Drex and said, "I'll pass his sentiments on - to the plants. "In spite of himself, Drex swayed backwards and laughed.

"Oh, Zak - you don't know how close you are."

---(*)---