Examine the area

To get a better look, you knelt down beside the trunk of the dying Feeler. Although your attention was on the alien plant, it was your knee that found something unexpected. The soil next to the Feeler felt very loose compared the soil in the other lab. Probing the ground with your fingers, you quickly discovered that the soil here was so dry that it was almost like powder. One other thing you observed that was different from the other lab was the pleasant scent. One of the plants in this room seemed to be emitting a very fragrant bouquet compared to the other room.

Just a few feet away, you spotted a different bush-like alien plant that appeared to be thriving. Its round reddish leaves and bright iridescent flowers appeared healthy. Yet upon checking the soil there, the ground here also seemed extremely dry. Checks near other plants in the room revealed a few areas toward the outer edges where the ground seemed wet, but the areas in the middle near the Feeler and a few other plants were parched. What could cause that, and why were some plants surviving better than others?

"MPAD-24, can you examine the moisture levels of the soil in this room? It seems unusually dry in this area. Maybe there's a pattern?"

The robot floated up and began to emit a fan-like set of colored light rays starting at one one corner of the lab, and steadily moving along the outer wall. "Full scan will be complete in 12 minutes," it announced as it continued it's serpentine sweeps over the floor. As it did, you turned your attention back to the ground near the Feeler in case it might reveal something. After a few minutes of combing through the dusty soil, you turned up nothing of interest.

With MPAD-24 about halfway done, you decided to take a closer look at the nearby red-leafed plant that was thriving. Its shimmering flowers looked spectacular and were unlike anything you'd ever seen before. Curious, you leaned toward one of them and inhaled. The fragrant smell reminded you of lavender, but it was much more potent. Inhaling the scent made you immediately feel much more relaxed, but soon after that you also became a bit light-headed and drowsy. If you ever needed a sleep aid, this would more than suffice. While you waited for the effect to pass, you now noticed that the pattern of the iridescent flowers seemed to dance, and the shifting colors were mesmerizing.

"Scan complete," announced MPAD-24, but you were too entranced by the flowers of the red alien plant to reply. Instead, you now had an overwhelming urge to lie down beneath the alien bush and take a nap. As you shifted onto the ground under it, you felt pricks on your skin, almost as if you'd rolled onto a bed of tiny needles, but whatever pain you felt was short-lived, and you quickly began to lose focus on your surroundings.

You barely noticed MPAD-24 inquiring as to your condition. "Detecting abnormal pulse and breathing patterns. Are you alright?"

By now you were too sleepy to even reply. All you wanted to do was to enjoy peaceful slumber under this exotic alien plant.