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The enemy was encoding secret messages in plant DNA, so they “captured” a greenhouse.

The first decoded messages were recipes for various dishes.

It was slow going: the greenhouse only grew savory herbs.

The Leader asked, “Have you found anything good, yet?”

The lab tech said, “Only thyme will tell.”

She was trimming her herb garden, busily pulling out all the weeds, removing the diseased or dying parts of otherwise viable plants.

Some varieties of herbs she’d planted were proliferating more than expected, stifling others.

That wouldn’t do.

“What’cha doin’ ?” asked her neighbor.

“Oh, right now, I’m just killing thyme.”