ABSTRACT
An insect, enticed by the aroma of nectar, gravitates to the inside of the two red lobes of the Venus flytrap. Its landing stimulates three trigger hairs on each lobe, and a chemical message instantaneously causes a physical reaction: the once convex lobes snap over and become concave, partially enclosing the insect. A dual-purpose fluid secreted from the lobes drowns the insect; the fluid is simultaneously digestive and antiseptic, preventing bacteria from attacking the trap. The plant has ways of interpreting environmental variables that allow it to survive: a biological code set. Just as the biology of the Venus flytrap guides its responses, the open-source program Processing develops a responsive image as a product of code. The reactions are mathematically static and predictable; however, the interaction of the user with the running code constitutes a variable environment wherein the integrity of the scripted image is subjectively interpreted.
