Worm Magazine

ISSUE #77

Portraing Surviving Flowers

e Dome’s Earth Restoration Association article Endangered Flowers: A Measure of the Totality of Earth’s Flora.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH

Are flowers in danger?

e most recent article published by dera, Endangered Flowers: A Measure of the Totality of Earth’s Flora, explores the risk of extinction, exposure to a dangerous environment, and visibility from the Dome of owers that have sprung since the Doomsday.

e investigation measured the totality of the ora recently found on the surface of the planet, therefore the percentages shown are representative of the whole species.

In this edition we curated a selection of owers that were the most common during the days before the Doomsday.

M. Dreamer’s colorful vision

Known for his highly saturated portraits, M. Dreamer’s take on DERA’s article acts as a portrayal of the world’s flora in colorful way. Working alongside our editors, he was able to translate the main variables from the investigation and visualize them by using common photographic editing settings.

What attracts you about flowers ?

at they’re delicate, yet beautiful a representation of life. Flowers are full of meaning. Each of them has a hidden story to tell. ey’re not just ornaments, they represent our past, present and future.

What’s the story you’re telling ?

e selection of owers and the order de natly its not random, so you have to read between the lines in order to unveil it. But on the front end, is an artistic representation of dera’s investigation and a portrail of our current life and state of the planet.

“Flowers are full of meanings

How was your process ?

It actually was easier than expected because the editors already had an idea of what they wanted to focus on, which were the variables for the intervention of the portraits. It immediately reminded me of photographic settings, and once we had our vision clear, scientists brought us real samples of the owers. I hope we get our message across because there’s for sure more than meets the eye.

”

METHODOLOGY Understanding

satURATION = risk of extinction

“Intensity of color” interpreted as life.

e less saturated, the bigger the risk of extinction of such ora. If the image is saturated, it means that ower has more chance of survival.

EXPOSURE = exposure to dangers

“State of having no protection from something dangerous” such as the toxicity of the air.

An overexposed portrait means that the ower is exposed to a harmful environment.

blur = rare to see them

“Unable to see clearly” the ora.

e quantity of blurry sections of the image is proportional to the capacity of seeing such species from or nearby the Dome.

TULIPS

Holding on

Growing wild over much of what we used to call the Near East and Central Asia, tulips were cultivated in Constantinople as early as 1055. By the 15th century, they were among the most prized owers; becoming the symbol of the Ottomans. During the ‘Tulip Mania’, they were frequently depicted in Dutch Golden Age paintings. anks to the industrialized tulip breading system, after Doomsday, many seeds were protected in cans which explains their reappearance where the Netherlands used to be located.

Chance of survival: 12% Represented by the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: 91% Represented by the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: 98% Represented by the amount of bluriness added.

Tulips are a delicate species, but they’re still holding on. Although there’s a 12% chance of survival, that still a lot considering that 91% of them are exposed to toxic environments away from the Dome.

Hidden miracle

Carnations, or Dianthus, were mentioned in Greek literature 2,000 years ago. e term dianthus was coined by Greek botanist eophrastus, and is derived from the Ancient Greek words for divine («dios») and ower («anthos»). e name "carnation" is believed to come from the Latin «corona-ae», a "wreath, garland, chaplet, crown", as it was believed in Catholicism (a religion popular before Doomsday) that god made esh in the form of Jesus. is species survived because many of its seeds were brought to the Dome by deeply religious survivors.

Chance of survival: 100%

Represented by the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: 3%

Represented by the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: 13%

Represented by the amount of bluriness added.

Carnations are the only species with a 100% survival chance due to its low exposure to danger. Although is one of the most common owers in Dome, it is very rare to see one in other regions.

ROSES

Still a symbol

e long cultural history of the rose has led to it being used often as a symbol. In ancient Greece, they were closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite. Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, the rose became identi ed with the Virgin Mary. Modern cultures made it one of the most common owers because it became a gift primarily given to a love interest, symbolizing a romantic relationship. is sentiment was later translated to a post-Doomsday society where people saved their seeds as a gift to the loved ones who survived and remember those who didn’t.

Chance of survival: 74% Represented by the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: 14% Represented by the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: 22% Represented by the amount of bluriness added.

Roses, just like Carnations, were saved by survivors, but they have surprisingly appeared outside the Dome, which explains its higher exposure and lower chance of survival.

SUNFLOWERS

Resilient hope

e common sun ower was one of several plants cultivated by Native Americans in prehistoric North America as part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex. Commonly known for tilting during the day to face the Sun in order to gain more sunlight for photosynthesis, after WW3, it became a global symbol of resistance, unity, and hope. During Doomsday, there was a public interest in saving them, but it was very di cult. Inexplicably, there has been a reemergence of sun owers in undisclosed areas of the Earth.

Chance of survival: 44% Represented by the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: 43% Represented by the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: 83% Represented by the amount of bluriness added.

Sun owers are a rare species nowadays, but a recent reemergance has brought its chances of survival up to 44%. Since they bloom annually, its di cult to predict their future.

Odd advent

Da odils, or Narcissus, were perceived by what used to be called the West, as a symbol of vanity. In Ancient Greece, they were planted near tombs and were described as “portents of death”, an association which also appears in the myth of Persephone and the underworld. After Doomsday, they became a societal symbol of the Dome which explains its chance of survival despite being weirdly appearing in undisclosed locations to later be found dead due to their exposition to danger. Half of them can be found inside the Dome and the rest in random locations across the globe.

Chance of survival: 69% Represented by the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: 87% Represented by the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: 55% Represented by the amount of bluriness added.

Da

odils odd appearances in strange locations rised its exposure to the limits. Because half of them are taken care of inside the Dome, their chance of survival as a species is still healthy.

ORCHIDS

Shine bright

Orchids are a diverse and widespread family of owering plants, with blooms that are often colorful and fragrant. In the days before Doomsday, they used to represent many di erent cultures such as nations like Colombia, Venezuela, Singapore, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, and other locations like Shaoxing in China and Assam in India. Nowadays, it is the rarest of them all because there’s no clear explanation as of how and why they have been appearing outside caves around the Earth.

Chance of survival: 98% visualized with the saturation of the image.

Exposure to danger: visualized with the exposure of the image.

Rarity of the species: visualized with the amount of bluriness added.

Orchids are in an extraordinary healthy state even though 35% of the whole species is exposed to toxic environments. A rare phenomena that encapsulates the faith of a brighter future.

Publisher Pabs

Editor in Chief

Nicolás Pabón

Designer

María Ramírez

Portraits

M. Dreamer

Illustrations

M. Dreamer

Printed in Dome by Comfi

Copyright Ⓒ WORM Magazine

In collaboration and sponsored by the Dome’s Earth Restoration Association.

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