Seeds on the Cosmic wind.

"Ladies and Gentlemen,my fellow scientists.Time as you know is of the essence.However,I feel it is only right that before we address the very real danger that our planet faces today that I first give a short history of the phenomenon as it is known to us.
Two months ago,as you all no doubt recall,an amature astrologer first reported an area of what seemed like vegetation on the planet Mars.On the day it was reported it was estimated to already be the size of Scotland.The NASA satelite,Observer 5,was already orbitting the Red Planet and technicians altered it's course so as to monitor the developing situation.Within the twenty four hours it took from it being first reported until the time the satelite was in it's new orbital position the area of vegetation had grown to the size of France.
You will remember it first being described as "Mars Grass" by many tabloids.At this point I'd just like to put a few conspiracy theories to rest as to it's origin.The world's scientific and political community have come together as never before and we can now say catagorically that this was not an example of an attempt by any government to terraform Mars nor is it a case of accidental contamination.We can also say with a high degree of certainty that this was not a plant indigenous to Mars that had been hibernating or dormant as has been claimed in some scientific journals.
There were three mobile probes on Mars at that time,one from the European Union and two from the USA.Our first inclination was to send the nearest mobile probe,Europe's "Darwin Explorer" to investigate but the rate of growth of this vegetation observed by the satelite showed that within two more days the vegetation would aproach the probe and so an elevated rocky place was found so that the probe could monitor the aproaching vegetation.In the meantime all unnecessary programs Darwin Exporer was running were terminated and European technicians optimized other software that was thought needed.
By this stage the area of growth was the size of Canada.
You will all of seen the film of the encroaching plant but I will quickly describe the first cycle of growth that Darwin observed.The stem,which is aproximately half an inch in diameter, rises from the ground away from the mass of the plant.The stem bends down and when it is aproximately one metre long it touches the ground.It then puts down some kind of root and from that point three new stems emerge at ninety degrees to each other,each stem destined to repeat the same cycle.Darwin observed the cycle many times and on average it took just half an hour to complete.
Darwin was only able to maintain it's mobility for three hours before it was totally emeshed.It continued to take samples of the plant for a further five hours before the vegetation around it became too thick.For a while we continued to receive transmissions from Darwin but eventually the solar panels that power the probe were covered and transmissions stopped.
By day four the plant,which was now being refered to in the media as "Marsweed",had covered an area the size of Africa and was still spreading.
The two NASA probes,"Romulus" and "Remus",were investigating the North and South polar regions respectively.When the fate of Darwin had become apparent NASA technicians diverted the two probes to the poles in the hope that the intense cold there would not be to the plants liking.That hope we now know was forlorn.This plant appears to be able to survive and spread in the most extreme conditions.Romulus was overtaken before it reached the pole.Remus did reach the South pole of Mars where it recorded extraordinary changes in the composition of Mars' atmosphere.The plant appeared to be excreting vast quanities of Oxygen just as plants do here on Earth.Eventually Remus met the same fate as Darwin and Romulus.

Ladies and Gentlemen,from the first recorded sighting of the plant until it had covered Mars in it's entirety took just nine days.This is one plant.It is rather like a climbing plant or creeper spreading along the ground and setting down extra "sub roots" as it goes.

Of course,despite the apparent loss of three mobile probes we looked on this plant at the time as a Godsend.We were ourselves looking at ways of terraforming Mars and this plant had appeared to do it for us in just over a week.The Red Planet had become the Green Planet.Observer 5 went into it's lowest possible orbit and we could observe the thinkening of the foliage.One month after the first sighting or one month ago,if you prefer,the plant began to flower and the Green Planet became the Yellow planet.You've all see those images that Observer 5 has sent and I don't think my words could describe any better the wondrous sight of an entire planet in bloom.We know from data received later from all three probes that the plant appears to have seeded around this time but initially when we first saw the plant starting to apparently die it was a shock.Not that anything this plant has done has be expected.
The flowers only lasted a couple of days and the plant started to turn brown.Within a week it had dissolved into a putrid sludge nine inches thick accross the entire planet.We started receiving signals again from the probes at this time.Oxygen levels which were initially very high started to drop and Methane and Carbon Dioxide levels started to rise.

We now believe that the plant was starting it's second generation incarnation.We have images sent back by the probes of small green shoots emerging about two and a half weeks ago through the sludge.These shoots grew quickly into stems the diameter of redwood trees.Again we lost transmissions from the probes.Images from Observer 5 showed large pod like features growing at the top of these new plants.Just over one week ago those pods exploded and seeds were thrown out into space.
We expect some of those seeds to reach Earth within the next few days and the other planets in the Solar System in the coming months.

So,ladies and Gentlemen,having told the brief story which has brought us to this situation,what are we to do?"

I really enjoyed this one JB

You should have a read of Larry Niven's "Rainbow Mars" some time - it's not quite the same concept, but along those lines, playing on the interstellar, planet-sucking, seed-throwing, hang-tree/beanstalk/yggdrasil mythology (Norse)

Very cool

Ja, quite good. Keep it up.

DE