Biosphere

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me nor do any of the characters within. The plot however is mine though it was inspired by something I learnt in Science. Hmmm, I actually learned something.

AN: Well, I grew tired of The Force. It really didn't have a general direction. Actually, the problem was it had too much direction so hopefully Biosphere will let me be slightly more creative. I hope you're all going to give my new baby a chance to grow and plz, if you have any comments at all about the story, or any questions, REVIEW.

Chapter 1: Funding the project

Hundreds upon hundreds of notorious men and women sat in the audience. We were all gathered in the massive hall for one of the largest annual conventions in the scientific world. Extra chairs were being carried in through one of the back entrances; I suppose they're for the other guest speakers.

My heart is practically thumping out of my chest; I don't think I've ever been this nervous or scared.

Well, granted I was pretty afraid when my next door neighbour, Mrs. Chen, set her pit bull on me when I was fifteen. Long story short, it was midnight; my parents had locked me out and Mrs. C though that a suspicious looking character was prowling around her neighbour's house.

Oh crap! Everything got really quiet really fast. Emphasis on the really part. Here goes nothing. Ok, that's a big fat whopper; here goes everything if I screw this up. My career will be flushed down the toilet and I'll be the laughing stock of the industry.

Where the hell is my speech? Nuts. Double nuts. I was doomed before I even got started.

"Ladies and Gentleman, I welcome you to the 56th annual Scientific Convention pertaining to everything, well, scientific."

A polite laugh echoed through the room. You know the kind I'm talking about. The kind of laugh you make even when something isn't remotely funny; like when your boss or your teacher tries to crack a joke.

Well, right now it wasn't my boss or a teacher. A round, kind looking man was up at the podium. He had light yellowish hair and a thick moustache to match it. He had thick stubby fingers and beady little eyes that conveyed attempted warmth. If you still don't quite understand what the man looks like, picture Mr. Mustard from the board game Clue.

Anyway, he droned on about the importance of science and our ever developing country for about twenty minutes (at this rate he would have the audience asleep within the next ten.) La, La, dum, di, dum, di, da, da, da. Stupid elevators and their dumb elevator music.

"And now, without further ado, it is my pleasure to be introducing our first guest speaker, one of the newest and greatest minds in science, Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Kinimoto, Sakura!"

Suddenly all my anxiety returned to me. I have no speech and no authority. But I do have an idea. Oh well, only one way to get this over with and it's not going to happen with me standing back stage like a statue.

One step at a time. Applause broke out through the audience and many held smiles on their faces. I don't think any of them are quite excited to see me, probably more relieved to see the other guy go.

That's ok; I'll take what I can get. Everybody sat silently, all of them staring at me. Oh right, I have to start talking.

"Good afternoon everyone," Just smile and nod Sakura, smile and nod, "It is my absolute pleasure to be standing here before you, my hopes are high and my opinion valued. It can't get much better then this."

Ok, so far so good.

"A great man once started with this solitary sentence. I have a dream. Well Mr. King, I have a dream too. My dream is of a better understanding. I want to know why things are the way they are, I want answers and through my profession," I'm a biochemist by the way, "I plan to get them."

Ok, so I may not be the best motivational speaker. In fact, I kind of sucked. If my best friend and roommate, Tomoyo, were here, she would be laughing her ass off. We were discussing my speech last night and we both agreed that 'I have a dream' was slightly corny but I suppose that's why it stuck with me. Too bad it's not here, and then maybe I wouldn't sound so stupid. Pffft at least I'm not half as boring as Mr. Mustard.

Moving on, "So I thought to myself, Sakura, how are you going to get the answers? Well, it took a while but I finally came up with the idea; Project Biosphere. A contained artificial ecosystem with as much biodiversity as one would see in nature."

Ok, not too bad. The idea is out there and I'm not being walloped with tomatoes. I'd say that's an improvement.

"I and three others would remain within the ecosystem for an entire year to observe the plant and animal interactions as well as to make sure there is not interference or contamination. I believe that this is a good beginning to my personal discovery of the world."

A customary bow and then BAM, applause. Excellent, so I didn't fail. Quite the contrary in fact, from the looks I was getting you'd think I was a genius or something.

Little did i know, somewhere approx. three thousand miles away...

Eriol Hirigizawa (sp) turned of the T.V. Biosphere eh? That's exactly what his client needed to boost his publicity.

Pacing back and forth, he thought fast. How could he get Li into the sphere? There were three spaces open but Kinimoto probably planned on giving them to other scientists. Doesn't matter.

How is she funding the project? To build the dome alone, not to mention creating the ecosystem must cost somewhere near three million dollars. Could they afford to pay the near six million dollars to fund her project?

Yes. The answer was yes