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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Talkative Tree, by Horace Brown Fyfe
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: The Talkative Tree
Author: Horace Brown Fyfe
Release Date: December 8, 2007 [EBook #23767]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALKATIVE TREE ***
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</pre>
<p style="text-align: right; margin-top: 80px; margin-bottom: 2em;"><big style="font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold;">By H. B. Fyfe</big></p>
<h1>THE TALKATIVE<br/>
TREE</h1>
<blockquote><p>Dang vines! Beats all how some plants
have no manners—but what do you expect,
when they used to be men!</p></blockquote>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">All</span> things considered—the
obscure star, the undetermined
damage to the
stellar drive and the way the
small planet's murky atmosphere
defied precision scanners—the
pilot made a reasonably
good landing. Despite
sour feelings for the space
service of Haurtoz, steward
Peter Kolin had to admit that
casualties might have been
far worse.</p>
<p>Chief Steward Slichow led
his little command, less two
third-class ration keepers
thought to have been trapped
in the lower hold, to a point
two hundred meters from the
steaming hull of the <i>Peace
State</i>. He lined them up as if
on parade. Kolin made himself
inconspicuous.</p>
<p>"Since the crew will be on
emergency watches repairing
the damage," announced the
Chief in clipped, aggressive
tones, "I have volunteered my
section for preliminary scouting,
as is suitable. It may be
useful to discover temporary
sources in this area of natural
foods."</p>
<p><em>Volunteered HIS section!</em>
thought Kolin rebelliously.</p>
<p><em>Like the Supreme Director
of Haurtoz! Being conscripted
into this idiotic space fleet
that never fights is bad
enough without a tin god on
jets like Slichow!</em></p>
<p>Prudently, he did not express
this resentment overtly.</p>
<p>His well-schooled features
revealed no trace of the idea—or
of any other idea. The
Planetary State of Haurtoz
had been organized some fifteen
light-years from old
Earth, but many of the home
world's less kindly techniques
had been employed. Lack of
complete loyalty to the state
was likely to result in a siege
of treatment that left the subject
suitably "re-personalized."
Kolin had heard of instances
wherein mere unenthusiastic
posture had betrayed
intentions to harbor
treasonable thoughts.</p>
<p>"You will scout in five details
of three persons each,"
Chief Slichow said. "Every
hour, each detail will send
one person in to report, and
he will be replaced by one of
the five I shall keep here to
issue rations."</p>
<p>Kolin permitted himself to
wonder when anyone might
get some rest, but assumed a
mildly willing look. (Too eager
an attitude could arouse
suspicion of disguising an improper
viewpoint.) The maintenance
of a proper viewpoint
was a necessity if the Planetary
State were to survive
the hostile plots of Earth and
the latter's decadent colonies.
That, at least, was the official
line.</p>
<p>Kolin found himself in a
group with Jak Ammet, a
third cook, and Eva Yrtok,
powdered foods storekeeper.
Since the crew would be eating
packaged rations during
repairs, Yrtok could be spared
to command a scout detail.</p>
<p>Each scout was issued a
rocket pistol and a plastic water
tube. Chief Slichow emphasized
that the keepers of
rations could hardly, in an
emergency, give even the appearance
of favoring themselves
in regard to food. They
would go without. Kolin
maintained a standard expression
as the Chief's sharp
stare measured them.</p>
<p>Yrtok, a dark, lean-faced
girl, led the way with a quiet
monosyllable. She carried the
small radio they would be
permitted to use for messages
of utmost urgency. Ammet
followed, and Kolin brought
up the rear.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">To</span> reach their assigned
sector, they had to climb
a forbidding ridge of rock
within half a kilometer. Only
a sparse creeper grew along
their way, its elongated leaves
shimmering with bronze-green
reflections against a
stony surface; but when they
topped the ridge a thick forest
was in sight.</p>
<p>Yrtok and Ammet paused
momentarily before descending.</p>
<p>Kolin shared their sense of
isolation. They would be out
of sight of authority and responsible
for their own actions.
It was a strange sensation.</p>
<p>They marched down into
the valley at a brisk pace, becoming
more aware of the
clouds and atmospheric haze.
Distant objects seemed
blurred by the mist, taking on
a somber, brooding grayness.
For all Kolin could tell, he
and the others were isolated
in a world bounded by the
rocky ridge behind them and
a semi-circle of damp trees
and bushes several hundred
meters away. He suspected
that the hills rising mistily
ahead were part of a continuous
slope, but could not be
sure.</p>
<p>Yrtok led the way along
the most nearly level ground.
Low creepers became more
plentiful, interspersed with
scrubby thickets of tangled,
spike-armored bushes. Occasionally,
small flying things
flickered among the foliage.
Once, a shrub puffed out an
enormous cloud of tiny
spores.</p>
<p>"Be a job to find anything
edible here," grunted Ammet,
and Kolin agreed.</p>
<p>Finally, after a longer hike
than he had anticipated, they
approached the edge of the
deceptively distant forest.
Yrtok paused to examine some
purple berries glistening dangerously
on a low shrub. Kolin
regarded the trees with
misgiving.</p>
<p>"Looks as tough to get
through as a tropical jungle,"
he remarked.</p>
<p>"I think the stuff puts out
shoots that grow back into
the ground to root as they
spread," said the woman.
"Maybe we can find a way
through."</p>
<p>In two or three minutes,
they reached the abrupt border
of the odd-looking trees.</p>
<p>Except for one thick
trunked giant, all of them
were about the same height.
They craned their necks to estimate
the altitude of the
monster, but the top was hidden
by the wide spread of
branches. The depths behind
it looked dark and impenetrable.</p>
<p>"We'd better explore along
the edge," decided Yrtok.
"Ammet, now is the time to
go back and tell the Chief
which way we're—<em>Ammet!</em>"</p>
<p>Kolin looked over his shoulder.
Fifty meters away, Ammet
sat beside the bush with
the purple berries, utterly
relaxed.</p>
<p>"He must have tasted
some!" exclaimed Kolin. "I'll
see how he is."</p>
<p>He ran back to the cook and
shook him by the shoulder.
Ammet's head lolled loosely
to one side. His rather heavy
features were vacant, lending
him a doped appearance. Kolin
straightened up and beckoned
to Yrtok.</p>
<p>For some reason, he had
trouble attracting her attention.
Then he noticed that she
was kneeling.</p>
<p>"Hope she didn't eat some
stupid thing too!" he grumbled,
trotting back.</p>
<p>As he reached her, whatever
Yrtok was examining
came to life and scooted into
the underbrush with a flash
of greenish fur. All Kolin
saw was that it had several
legs too many.</p>
<p>He pulled Yrtok to her
feet. She pawed at him weakly,
eyes as vacant as Ammet's.
When he let go in sudden
horror, she folded gently to
the ground. She lay comfortably
on her side, twitching
one hand as if to brush something
away.</p>
<p>When she began to smile
dreamily, Kolin backed away.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">The</span> corners of his mouth
felt oddly stiff; they had
involuntarily drawn back to
expose his clenched teeth. He
glanced warily about, but
nothing appeared to threaten
him.</p>
<p>"It's time to end this scout,"
he told himself. "It's dangerous.
One good look and I'm
jetting off! What I need is
an easy tree to climb."</p>
<p>He considered the massive
giant. Soaring thirty or forty
meters into the thin fog and
dwarfing other growth, it
seemed the most promising
choice.</p>
<p>At first, Kolin saw no way,
but then the network of vines
clinging to the rugged trunk
suggested a route. He tried
his weight gingerly, then began
to climb.</p>
<p>"I should have brought
Yrtok's radio," he muttered.
"Oh, well, I can take it when
I come down, if she hasn't
snapped out of her spell by
then. Funny … I wonder if
that green thing bit her."</p>
<p>Footholds were plentiful
among the interlaced lianas.
Kolin progressed rapidly.
When he reached the first
thick limbs, twice head
height, he felt safer.</p>
<p>Later, at what he hoped was
the halfway mark, he hooked
one knee over a branch and
paused to wipe sweat from his
eyes. Peering down, he discovered
the ground to be obscured
by foliage.</p>
<p>"I should have checked
from down there to see how
open the top is," he mused.
"I wonder how the view will
be from up there?"</p>
<p>"Depends on what you're
looking for, Sonny!" something
remarked in a soughing wheeze.</p>
<p>Kolin, slipping, grabbed
desperately for the branch.
His fingers clutched a handful
of twigs and leaves, which
just barely supported him until
he regained a grip with
the other hand.</p>
<p>The branch quivered resentfully
under him.</p>
<p>"Careful, there!" whooshed
the eerie voice. "It took me
all summer to grow those!"</p>
<p>Kolin could feel the skin
crawling along his backbone.</p>
<p>"Who <em>are</em> you?" he gasped.</p>
<p>The answering sigh of
laughter gave him a distinct
chill despite its suggestion of
amiability.</p>
<p>"Name's Johnny Ashlew.
Kinda thought you'd start
with <em>what</em> I am. Didn't figure
you'd ever seen a man grown
into a tree before."</p>
<p>Kolin looked about, seeing
little but leaves and fog.</p>
<p>"I have to climb down," he
told himself in a reasonable
tone. "It's bad enough that the
other two passed out without
me going space happy too."</p>
<p>"What's your hurry?" demanded
the voice. "I can talk
to you just as easy all the way
down, you know. Airholes in
my bark—I'm not like an
Earth tree."</p>
<p>Kolin examined the bark of
the crotch in which he sat. It
did seem to have assorted
holes and hollows in its rough
surface.</p>
<p>"I never saw an Earth tree,"
he admitted. "We came from
Haurtoz."</p>
<p>"Where's that? Oh, never
mind—some little planet. I
don't bother with them all,
since I came here and found
out I could be anything I
wanted."</p>
<p>"What do you mean, anything
you wanted?" asked
Kolin, testing the firmness of
a vertical vine.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">"Just</span> what I said," continued
the voice, sounding
closer in his ear as his
cheek brushed the ridged bark
of the tree trunk. "And, if
I do have to remind you, it
would be nicer if you said
'Mr. Ashlew,' considering my
age."</p>
<p>"Your age? How old—?"</p>
<p>"Can't really count it in
Earth years any more. Lost
track. I always figured bein'
a tree was a nice, peaceful
life; and when I remembered
how long some of them live,
that settled it. Sonny, this
world ain't all it looks like."</p>
<p>"It isn't, Mr. Ashlew?"
asked Kolin, twisting about
in an effort to see what the
higher branches might hide.</p>
<p>"Nope. Most everything
here is run by the Life—that
is, by the thing that first
grew big enough to do some
thinking, and set its roots
down all over until it had
control. That's the outskirts
of it down below."</p>
<p>"The other trees? That jungle?"</p>
<p>"It's more'n a jungle, Sonny.
When I landed here, along
with the others from the
<i>Arcturan Spark</i>, the planet
looked pretty empty to me,
just like it must have to—Watch
it, there, Boy! If I
didn't twist that branch over
in time, you'd be bouncing off
my roots right now!"</p>
<p>"Th-thanks!" grunted Kolin,
hanging on grimly.</p>
<p>"Doggone vine!" commented
the windy whisper. "<em>He</em>
ain't one of my crowd. Landed
years later in a ship from
some star towards the center
of the galaxy. You should
have seen his looks before
the Life got in touch with his
mind and set up a mental field
to help him change form. He
looks twice as good as a
vine!"</p>
<p>"He's very handy," agreed
Kolin politely. He groped for
a foothold.</p>
<p>"Well … matter of fact, I
can't get through to him
much, even with the Life's
mental field helping. Guess
he started living with a different
way of thinking. It
burns me. I thought of being
a tree, and then he came along
to take advantage of it!"</p>
<p>Kolin braced himself securely
to stretch tiring muscles.</p>
<p>"Maybe I'd better stay a
while," he muttered. "I don't
know where I am."</p>
<p>"You're about fifty feet
up," the sighing voice informed
him. "You ought to
let me tell you how the Life
helps you change form. You
don't <em>have</em> to be a tree."</p>
<p>"No?"</p>
<p>"<em>Uh</em>-uh! Some of the boys
that landed with me wanted
to get around and see things.
Lots changed to animals or
birds. One even stayed a man—on
the outside anyway.
Most of them have to change
as the bodies wear out, which
I don't, and some made bad
mistakes tryin' to be things
they saw on other planets."</p>
<p>"I wouldn't want to do
that, Mr. Ashlew."</p>
<p>"There's just one thing.
The Life don't like taking
chances on word about this
place gettin' around. It sorta
believes in peace and quiet.
You might not get back to
your ship in any form that
could tell tales."</p>
<p>"Listen!" Kolin blurted
out. "I wasn't so much enjoying
being what I was that
getting back matters to me!"</p>
<p>"Don't like your home planet,
whatever the name was?"</p>
<p>"Haurtoz. It's a rotten
place. A Planetary State! You
have to think and even look
the way that's standard thirty
hours a day, asleep or
awake. You get scared to
sleep for fear you might
<em>dream</em> treason and they'd find
out somehow."</p>
<p>"Whooeee! Heard about
them places. Must be tough
just to live."</p>
<p>Suddenly, Kolin found himself
telling the tree about life
on Haurtoz, and of the officially
announced threats to
the Planetary State's planned
expansion. He dwelt upon the
desperation of having no
place to hide in case of trouble
with the authorities. A
multiple system of such
worlds was agonizing to
imagine.</p>
<hr/>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">Somehow,</span> the oddity of
talking to a tree wore off.
Kolin heard opinions spouting
out which he had prudently
kept bottled up for
years.</p>
<p>The more he talked and
stormed and complained, the
more relaxed he felt.</p>
<p>"If there was ever a fellow
ready for this planet," decided
the tree named Ashlew,
"you're it, Sonny! Hang on
there while I signal the Life
by root!"</p>
<p>Kolin sensed a lack of direct
attention. The rustle
about him was natural, caused
by an ordinary breeze. He
noticed his hands shaking.</p>
<p>"Don't know what got into
me, talking that way to a
tree," he muttered. "If Yrtok
snapped out of it and heard,
I'm as good as re-personalized
right now."</p>
<p>As he brooded upon the
sorry choice of arousing a
search by hiding where he
was or going back to bluff
things out, the tree spoke.</p>
<p>"Maybe you're all set, Sonny.
The Life has been thinkin'
of learning about other
worlds. If you can think of a
safe form to jet off in, you
might make yourself a deal.
How'd you like to stay here?"</p>
<p>"I don't know," said Kolin.
"The penalty for desertion—"</p>
<p>"Whoosh! Who'd find you?
You could be a bird, a tree,
even a cloud."</p>
<p>Silenced but doubting, Kolin
permitted himself to try
the dream on for size.</p>
<p>He considered what form
might most easily escape the
notice of search parties and
still be tough enough to live
a long time without renewal.
Another factor slipped into
his musings: mere hope of escape
was unsatisfying after
the outburst that had defined
his fuming hatred for Haurtoz.</p>
<p><em>I'd better watch myself!</em> he
thought. <em>Don't drop diamonds
to grab at stars!</em></p>
<p>"What I wish I could do is
not just get away but get even
for the way they make us
live … the whole damn set-up.
They could just as easy make
peace with the Earth colonies.
You know why they
don't?"</p>
<p>"Why?" wheezed Ashlew.</p>
<p>"They're scared that without
talk of war, and scouting
for Earth fleets that never
come, people would have time
to think about the way they
have to live and who's running
things in the Planetary
State. Then the gravy train
would get blown up—and I
mean blown up!"</p>
<p>The tree was silent for a
moment. Kolin felt the
branches stir meditatively.
Then Ashlew offered a suggestion.</p>
<p>"I could tell the Life your
side of it," he hissed. "Once
in with us, you can always
make thinking connections,
no matter how far away.
Maybe you could make a deal
to kill two birds with one
stone, as they used to say on
Earth…."</p>
<hr/>
<p class="dropcap"><span style="text-transform: uppercase;">Chief</span> Steward Slichow
paced up and down beside
the ration crate turned up to
serve him as a field desk. He
scowled in turn, impartially,
at his watch and at the weary
stewards of his headquarters
detail. The latter stumbled
about, stacking and distributing
small packets of emergency
rations.</p>
<p>The line of crewmen released
temporarily from repair
work was transient as to
individuals but immutable as
to length. Slichow muttered
something profane about disregard
of orders as he glared
at the rocky ridges surrounding
the landing place.</p>
<p>He was so intent upon planning
greetings with which to
favor the tardy scouting parties
that he failed to notice
the loose cloud drifting over
the ridge.</p>
<p>It was tenuous, almost a
haze. Close examination
would have revealed it to be
made up of myriads of tiny
spores. They resembled those
cast forth by one of the
bushes Kolin's party had
passed. Along the edges, the
haze faded raggedly into thin
air, but the units evidently
formed a cohesive body. They
drifted together, approaching
the men as if taking intelligent
advantage of the breeze.</p>
<p>One of Chief Slichow's
staggering flunkies, stealing
a few seconds of relaxation
on the pretext of dumping an
armful of light plastic packing,
wandered into the haze.</p>
<p>He froze.</p>
<p>After a few heartbeats, he
dropped the trash and stared
at ship and men as if he had
never seen either. A hail from
his master moved him.</p>
<p>"Coming, Chief!" he called
but, returning at a moderate
pace, he murmured, "My
name is Frazer. I'm a second
assistant steward. I'll think as
Unit One."</p>
<p>Throughout the cloud of
spores, the mind formerly
known as Peter Kolin congratulated
itself upon its
choice of form.</p>
<p><em>Nearer to the original
shape of the Life than Ashlew
got</em>, he thought.</p>
<p>He paused to consider the
state of the tree named Ashlew,
half immortal but rooted
to one spot, unable to float on
a breeze or through space itself
on the pressure of light.
Especially, it was unable to
insinuate any part of itself
into the control center of another
form of life, as a second
spore was taking charge of
the body of Chief Slichow at
that very instant.</p>
<p><em>There are not enough men</em>,
thought Kolin. <em>Some of me
must drift through the airlock.
In space, I can spread
through the air system to the
command group.</em></p>
<p>Repairs to the <i>Peace State</i>
and the return to Haurtoz
passed like weeks to some of
the crew but like brief moments
in infinity to other
units. At last, the ship parted
the air above Headquarters
City and landed.</p>
<p>The unit known as Captain
Theodor Kessel hesitated before
descending the ramp. He
surveyed the field, the city
and the waiting team of inspecting
officers.</p>
<p>"Could hardly be better,
could it?" he chuckled to the
companion unit called Security
Officer Tarth.</p>
<p>"Hardly, sir. All ready for
the liberation of Haurtoz."</p>
<p>"Reformation of the Planetary
State," mused the captain,
smiling dreamily as he
grasped the handrail. "And
then—formation of the Planetary
Mind!"</p>
<p style="margin-top: 3em; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">END</p>
<p class="tnote"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b><br/>
This e-text was produced from <cite>Worlds of If January 1962</cite>.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this
publication was renewed.</p>
<pre>
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