Design Flaw - Flash Fiction

Years or work went into that glass dome. They told him it could not be done. That his years were being squandered on the impossible. But there it was. An entire forest in a small glass dome. On the bottom on the dome was a metal lid. This lid had tiny openings, ones that thin pipes would attached to in order to bring water in and out. You could also use a special extrator to get the O2 out. It came out small, like the forest, but when it ran through the extractor, it grew back to normal size and quickly filled a room. That was the main reason for this project. Portable, almost unlimited, air. We could take this to any planet. And solar system.

The scientist admired the bulb in the window for a few minutes. The last of the sun rays shined through the dome. It was magnificent. Then he placed it on his work station and went home for the night, making sure to the close and lock the door behind him.

A few hours later there was the sound of keys jingling. It was the janitor. He unlocked the lab office and came in to give the room a quick cleaning. With his right hand he flicked on the lightswitch. Nothing. He flipped the switch a few times but still nothing. The bulb must have been out. The janitor turned on a flashlight to get a new one. The beam shined forward. He noticed a glimmer in front of him. A tiny glass-like object that shone in the flashlight. The janitor took a step closer. He examined it in the dim light.

It was dome in shape, had a metal base, the janitor knew what this was. He took the forst project and walked over to the light fixture. He removed the lightbulb that no longer worked, and screwed in the tiny forest. The holes did not fit perfectly and he had to jam it in a bit. When he was finished he hit the switch. The room lit up with a tiny blaze. Thousands of miniature tree were on fire. The oxygen was too much. The bulb exploded. 

Luckily no shard pierced the skin of the janitor. He shrugged. Bad bulb, he thought. Then grabbed one from his cart.