By Patrick M. Fitzgerald
The monarchs fluttered about the bright orange milkweed blossoms. The color of their wings matched it perfectly, like a sunset shining from the bushes.
“This is going to be the perfect centerpiece for our presentation.” Penelope held the camera steady as she crouched forward. She scanned the ground, careful not to snap any branches and startle the butterflies.
“We’re going to ace this class for sure.” Jasper’s camera clicked after several minutes of careful observation.
Penelope snapped the final picture and admired it with a sigh. “I can see how these little guys got their name. They certainly are regal.”
“Powerful, too,” her classmate whispered as he leaned over her shoulder to take a picture.
Penelope turned to him and laughed. His face was so uncharacteristically serious, she just had to snap a photo. “Ruling over the insect kingdom?”
“Not just that.” He snickered and took a shot of her kneeling in the bushes. “According to the butterfly effect theory, when they flap their wings, the ripple of air currents can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. It makes one wonder if they don’t do it on purpose.” He squinted at the critters as they hovered among the petals. “Calculating their every move to control the weather.”
Penelope snapped another shot of those deep-set eyes under his furrowed brow. He’s so intense, it’s almost scary. “I know people underestimate the intelligence of animals, but… seriously?”
“You never know. The simplest action can have far-reaching consequences. If they could predict those effects, and act accordingly… they could secretly be controlling the world.”
With the flurry of a dozen wings, the butterflies sailed into the spring sky.
Jasper pressed a pin into the chart and tied a string stretching across the apartment to the map of the world. He stepped away and studied the web of strings. The gigabytes of data he’d collected didn’t show it quite as dramatically, but there definitely was a pattern.
There was also a knock at the door.
“Just a sec!” Jasper called out as he made his way through the tangled maze. He stumbled over a knot of strings, dropping his coffee mug.
“You okay in there?”
Penelope’s voice made him take a deep breath. Haven’t heard that voice in years. I’d almost forgotten how soothing it is. “Of course, it’s just getting… complicated.” He opened the door to see her just as he remembered, her fiery hair shining like the sunset.
Penelope raised her eyebrows as she scanned the room. “It sure is!” Her eyes went from the strings to the maps. “What… is all this?”
“Butterfly effects.” Jasper pointed to the chart. “Migration patterns.” He traced the string to the map. “Weather changes.” Then to a newspaper. “Political upheaval.”
She turned slowly, taking in the entirety of Jasper’s collected work. Cities ravaged by carpet bombing. Wildfires consuming entire forests. A world in chaos. She paused at a certain picture. “You kept it?”
“Of course.” Jasper crossed to the photo. The one Penelope had taken years before. “It’s been my inspiration.”
“I appreciate it, but…” Her lips curved into a grimace as she glanced at the walls. “Jasper, you have to admit it’s a bit hard to take in.”
“Penelope…” He took her hands in his. “Take a look at my spreadsheets.” He nodded to the computer. “Maybe it’ll make more sense.”
“It would have to…” Her smile softened and she nodded. “Okay. Show me what you’ve got.”
They sat for hours poring over the data. Jasper explained each calculation, every spreadsheet, from the first one he’d made from their field studies in college to the most recent.
Penelope leaned closer to the screen with deepening interest. “Why would they throw our world into chaos like this…?”
“I think they’re at war with us.” Jasper took a shirt from the desk and wiped up the coffee.
“No…” Penelope ran her fingers through her hair. “That’s human thinking. Insects… they act on instinct, self-preservation, not malice.”
Jasper chuckled, then paused at the sincerity in her eyes. “If that’s true, how would we stop them?”
“Assuming there’s even”—Penelope plucked one of the cords—“a thread of possibility here, it would just be a matter of providing what they need to survive.”
She peered closer at the old photo and tapped the sunny milkweed blooms. “Providing what they need…”
Jasper chuckled. “You want to carpet the world in flowers like some kind of peace offering?”
“Is it really that crazy?” Penelope pointed at the web of strings. “A small act can have a huge impact on the world.” A broad smile brightened her face. “Isn’t that what the butterfly effect teaches us?”
Is there really a chance to stop all this? Jasper took a deep breath and surveyed the disturbingly familiar images of war and chaos. “Maybe it’s worth a try.”
The Thousand Wings Initiative started small, finding like-minded individuals on social media, then blossoming into a worldwide network. Some enterprising biotech startups embraced their vision, creating hardier, more versatile breeds of milkweed that flourished in the harshest conditions.
Jasper’s research drove the movement ever forward. Every habitat restored was reflected in a famine ending, a nation drafting a peace treaty, or a disease being eradicated.
Every acre of unused land became a garden, heralded by the sunset-hued milkweed. Weather patterns stabilized and crime rates plummeted across the globe.
Jasper and Penelope sat on the porch, watching the monarchs work among the flowers in the yard.
Jasper glanced at the latest spreadsheet and closed the laptop. “I can’t believe it’s been twenty years.”
Penelope smiled. The setting sun made her greying curls as bright as the day they’d met. “We’ve been busy.”
He laughed and clasped her hand, caressing her wedding ring. “There’s no one I’d rather have been so busy with.”
The butterflies rose from the flowers and a thousand wings fluttered into the sunset.
Penelope winked at her husband. “I wonder what they’re planning next?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The humanity of this story was stitched so well with the Sci fi elements. And your style of writing really draws me in!
I’m really glad you appreciated both aspects of the story!
Thank you for reading!
Wow, I was just listening to something that talked about the butterfly effect and here you have a sci-fi spin on it. Love it!
Thank you for sharing this; I always love those little coincidences!
I’m really glad you enjoyed it, Yaasha!
THAT. WAS. COOL.
^_^
Thank you, Rose!
I really loved the idea of the butterflies and flowers uniting the world. It is a beautiful
concept.
That’s such a wonderful description! I’m really glad you appreciated it.
Thank you so much! :D
I like how you took Bradbury’s premise and created a more positive story. Very creative!
Thank you, Arlan!
It’s an intriguing concept, and I wanted to explore the positive implications of it for a change.
I’m really glad you appreciated it.
interesting…
:D
I’m glad you thought so!
I love it! What a neat idea. I enjoyed the thread of romance.
Butterflies rule the world! What an interesting way to develop a premise— taking a common idiom to the extreme.
It makes me thing of that question…. what if trees were farming us for our carbon dioxide. Nice premise!