The She-Trees

                                            THE SHE-TREES
 
                                                      by
                                                Peter James



Far to the north, deep within the desolate canyon region of Bear Continent on the planet of Transformoria, there is a dark, primordial forest whose gloomy shadows cling to the serpentine path of a slow moving mountain stream.  Hidden along that snake's back, there is a small grove of four grotesquely twisted and contorted O-akin trees, which strangely mimic human form.  This is where I found them, not so long ago, among the flickering silhouettes of canopy light, beside a sparkling, crystal-clear stream of gently flowing water.  This is where the She-Trees grow.

Towards the evening of the third day of my exploration into the canyon forests of Transformoria, I followed the shade covered banks of a sharply curving mountain stream as it worked its way downward into the valley's basin.  Gradually, I noticed a bright clearing to the west.  Changing course, I walked briskly towards it, emerging directly into the glaring light of the planet's twin setting suns.  Neckros, the closer red giant, and Phovos, the brilliant, more-distant beacon, floated in tandem just above the horizon.  Momentarily blinded by their light, I stopped cold in my tracks.  Instantly, my  X-Ops (bio-mechanical optical implants) reacted, protecting my eyes.  My vision swiftly returned and the alien landscape re-materialized before me.
         
I found myself inside a large, oval-shaped field, overgrown with tall, brown, prairie-style Mu-Wee grass and scattered throughout with patches of fantastic yellow, orange and blue wild flowers.  A heavy, sweet smell of jasmine hung in the air and numerous stripped Tigerflies, brandishing long, sharp stingers, buzzed by.  Directly before me a huge black spider nested inside an intricate silver web awaiting its prey.


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 2                     

Removing the TC-Scan from my utility belt, I slowly swept the entire field, carefully looking for heat-wave signatures of any dominant animal or plant life form.  While studying the negative-green thermal waves produced on the scanner’s screen, I selected the Solar-Net-Central icon at its top-right corner and quickly accessed what little scientific data and information known about the planet's indigenous wild-life and vegetation.

The planet was located on the outer frontier of an ever-expanding human exploration into outer space and only one official ship record existed in the SNC database.  That record was from a survey and mining ship called the Neptune.  It had been on a six-year long journey from the Outback Region into Farside Space, when it came across a small, undiscovered planet.  Touching the E-Screen again, I played the ship's official hologram log, dated 06-03-2106.

A blue ocean-covered sphere filled the scene.  The captain's voice could be heard giving orders for the pilot to orbit the planet and for the science officer to drop an En-V Telepod to its surface to gather information about atmosphere and climate conditions.  All the scientific data indicated that the alien world was strikingly similar to Earth. 

As the ship descended, it flew over a large, bearskin-shaped continent and the command was given to land and explore.  It was there, on Bear Continent, in a vast open prairie, at the base of an immense canyon that Neptune came to rest.  Through time-lapse photography, the holo-log condensed an hour into minutes, and I saw the crew secure a hundred yard force field around the ship's perimeter, establish a central campsite and erect modular, metal Geo-domes. 


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 3

The pure, white light from Phovos was quickly extinguished, as it sank below the planet's horizon.  Now, only its malevolent twin brother, Neckros, bathed the landscape in a bloodstained twilight.  Soon, this evil light also faded into darkness and Neptune's crew built a large bonfire to warm themselves against the chilled night air.

In a series of real-time, hand-held close-ups, the crew's tense faces could be seen in the flickering campfire light, as they conversed quietly together.  Shimmering, translucent-winged insects zoomed through the air.  A distant chorus of eerie howling sounds emanated from deep within the forest's bosom.  The planet's night voices awakened.  Armed guards were quickly dispatched around camp and the humans
retired, burrowing safely inside their pre-assembled, titanium, geodesic domes.

Two days passed without serious incident and Neptune's crew rested and cautiously explored the planet.  They discovered and recorded a great variety of new arthropod and invertebrate insects, and several unknown species of flying reptiles.  While exploring the forest, an officer reported that his search party had been attacked by a small group of wild carnivores, which they had been able to drive off with their weapons.  He described the animals as a hunting pack composed of feline females and canine males, accompanied by their mixed interspecies offsprings. Like a mutated Garden of Eden, heavily overgrown with huge flowering plants and tall, fruit-baring trees, the planet was alive with an unusual assortment of animal and plant life.


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 4

On the third day of Neptune's stay, the captain reported that "certain unexpected incidents" had occurred, which caused the crew to become exceedingly uneasy.  So uneasy, that he immediately ordered them to break camp and re-board the ship.  Shortly thereafter, Neptune flew back into outer space, resuming its journey to the Farside Region. 

The final clip from the ship's journal contained a cryptic statement from the captain.  He warned of "an unusually strong metamorphic relationship existing between the planet's plant and animal life forms."  Perhaps that was the reason why he had christened the planet... Transformoria.

In thoroughly reviewing the ship's holo-log, I found nothing to indicate that Neptune's crew had encountered any higher, more intelligent life forms.  Therefore, I was somewhat surprised when my scanner detected a group of four humanoid shapes, just beyond the field's northern border.  All four figures lay sheltered under the branches of a small grove of oak-like, O-akin trees.

In the dying twilight, Neckros and Phovos floated motionlessly in the sky, like two lost ghosts, upon an ever-darkening sea.  The mournful cries of a reptilian Thanatos bird sounded in the distance, sadly calling out for a mate.  An impressionistic blur of multi-colored flowers streaked past me, as I ran into the field and towards the mysterious grove and its figures.


The She-Trees  – (continued)  page 5

Suddenly, the Mu-Wee grass beneath my feet screamed loudly in pain and ran from my falling footsteps, hissing and spiting at me as I pasted.  Surprised, I watched in amazement as this mobile, animal-like grass swiftly parted, creating a clear pathway for me to traverse.  Walking slowly forward, I took extreme care not to step upon these sensitive creatures once again.

As I approached the grove, the prairie grass and wild flowers gave way to rocks, barren earth and half buried boulders, and the ground sloped gently downward.  I could see where the mountain stream broke free from the main body of water and worked its way through and around the grove's trees.  Upon reaching the stream's shoreline, I stopped and gazed into its' clean, pristine water and immediately felt overcome by heat and thirst.
         
I knelt at the water's edge, as if in prayer.  Within its gently moving liquid waves, I saw a shifting and fractured reflection of myself starring back up at me.  It was a ghostly apparition with gaunt features, pale complexion, peppered grey beard and deep-set eyes.  It held an intense, haunted expression on its face.  It was the reflection of my life; lost opportunities and failure; talent and creativity unfulfilled; but worst of all, the inability to make the ones I loved happy.  If only I could relive my life again. 
         
Greedily, I gulped handful, after handful of cold, clear water, quenching my thirst.  In a refreshing baptism, I submerged my entire head several times beneath the waves.  Rising to my feet, I wiped the dripping water from my eyes and inspected my surroundings.


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 6

The stream snaked from the forest through the grove and flowed past several snarled and twisted O-akin trees, intimately hugging its bank.  A strong, warm breeze blew hard against leafy treetops, causing fluctuating patterns of dark and bright tones to play constantly back and forth upon the scene.  Sparkling sunbeams bounced off the water's surface and drifted downstream.  As if in a dream, I stared across the bank and into the grove.  There, deep within the shadows, each one beneath a different tree, a group of four solitary figures dramatically posed.

The bright, white light of Phovos had died and only the angry, red face of Neckros now loomed largely in the neon sky.  In that glowing, magenta twilight, I glimpsed four nude female figures, boldly revealing ample, deeply tanned bodies and long, bushy heads of hair.  Remarkably, all four 'Wild-Women' remained absolutely still, frozen in gestures of strong emotional pathos. 

One laughed gaily and danced with both arms spread wide and held high; the second mournfully wept with bent head in hands covering her tear-stained face; the third reclined, sleepily in somber repose; while the fourth alluringly beckoned with one hand caressing her breast, while the other hand pointed downward to the ground.  At the very spot where this enticing siren pointed, a round shaft of light illuminated a thriving colony of small brown mushrooms.  Had I, at last, found what I had come looking for?


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 7

Calling out loudly and harshly to the four female figures, I demanded that they identify themselves and stop this bizarre pantomime show.  The only reply was the sharp, piercing cries of a frightened Thanatos bird and the rhythmic beating of its wings as it took flight.  Resembling native gods carved in wood, the four Wild-Women silently waited.

I laughed bitterly to myself.  I had come to Transformoria in search of the Blue Veil, also known as Psilocybin stuntzii.  It was a rare, very potent, hallucinogenic mushroom, which Neptune's crew had found growing in abundance, in the planet's northern forest.  I had come to the Bear Continent to find the Blue Veil... and to loose myself, to loose the memory of a failed artistic career and two failed marriages.  I had come to find oneness and forgiveness and perhaps to find death.

Extending my X-Ops to the maximum magnification, I zoomed in upon the smiling face of the 'Dancing' Wild-Woman.  Just as the auto-focus locked on to her pronounced feline features with large, slanted, green eyes, burnt-sienna skin tones, and sharp-toothed smile, suddenly her image dissolved into the bark of the tree directly behind her.  It was, as if, the tree itself had absorbed her.  Zooming wide to include the entire group, I saw the other Wild Women, one by one, melt into the trees, in front of which they stood, leaving only twisted and knotted branches to suggest their forms.

Neckros was slowly reclining back into his grave for the night.  A rich, violet gradient met the horizon and faded upward into blackness, revealing a magical night sky, embroidered with large, spiraling galaxies and diamond studded constellations.  Decisively, I waded through the cold, waist-deep stream and crossed over to its opposite bank.  Cautiously I entered the grove.


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 8

Humming and clicking sounds softly purred from my X-Ops as they switched from daylight to night-vision.  Many elongated, menacing shadows lurked within the dimly lit landscape.  Approaching the "Alluring Wild-Woman Tree," I stopped within inches of her rough bark surface.  Impulsively, I grabbed the bulbous tumor, which I had imagined was her tempting, uncovered breast.  It had a moist, spongy feel to it.  Repulsed, I quickly removed my hand.

Apprehensively, I backed away and readjusted my night-vision sensors.  My hand had not dissolved and the Wild-Women Trees had not transformed themselves back into real women once again.  Was my mind playing tricks on me, or was there something within the water, which I had drunk, that had caused me to hallucinate?  Refocusing my thoughts, my attention swiftly changed to a closer inspection of the Blue Veil colony of mushrooms and to the making of a camp for the night.

I was determined to stay in the grove and quickly gathered several fallen tree limbs.  All remarkably resembled human arms and legs.  Gingerly I stacked them in a pile and lit a small fire with my laser.  Collecting a handful of the Blue Veil, I washed them in the cool running stream and slowly roasted them on a long stick over the campfire's burning embers. 

One by one, I ate them, mellow and succulent they did taste.  In slow motion, a thick blue fog descended and engulfed me.  I watched in horror, as the rising campfire smoke metamorphosed into distorted human caricatures engaged in necrophilia.  I watched until the forbidding tree shadows transformed into surreal nightmares of sinners burning in Hell.  Finally, I lost consciousness.


The She-Trees - (continued)  page.  9

I awoke within a dream, within a dream, in which I saw two selves.  One self, my Outer-Self, floated high within the alien night sky and looked downward upon another, second self, my Real-Self, who floated naked, face up within the grove's flowing waters.  The four Wild-Women also stood naked, knee deep within the stream, slowly circling my paralyzed body as they tenderly held each other's outstretched hands.  In sensuous, seductive voices, they sang to and teasingly laughed at me, but soon their sweet voices mingled with the howling cries of wolves, and their playful, flirtatious laughter, became the mocking laughter of hyenas.

Telepathically, they spoke to me in one voice.  "Do not fear us Michael, for you have found what you have come looking for - death and rebirth.  We are the She-Trees, a micro-expression of our greater, inner feminine-self - the planet your species calls Transformoria." 

"Our primary defense is an accelerated force of Osmosis.  We can absorb any living singularity trespassing through our territory, thereby neutralizing and uniting it into our greater Mother-Self.  You will cease to be the tiny, isolated creature that you are now.  You will become one of us!  You will become the greater Uber-Self, the Transformoria!"

They were right, of course.  She sensed the desperate loneliness and alienation within my soul, and like a hungry lover devoured the void and me with it.  The strong aphrodisiac within the stream's water ensured that I felt no pain as their probing roots began to deeply penetrate and ingest my flesh. 


The She-Trees - (continued)  page. 10

Their bestial lullaby soon reached a crescendo of intensity and strength, as the She-Trees devoured my last remains.  Looking upward for one final time, into the glorious, swirling universe, I glimpsed the image of my other Outer-Self, sitting in a yoga-like posture, floating high within the star-filled sky and sadly shaking his head as he contemptuously smiled down at me.  Dissolving into nothingness, I felt only ecstasy, only joy, only oneness!

So, if you are a sad and melancholy type of person, inclined to space-travel and to the exploration of extraterrestrial planets, while in search of your lost destiny... then, I implore you, please come visit me-us on Transformoria!  Just go to the bearskin-shaped continent in the planet's northern hemisphere and then to the desolate canyon region, far to the north.  There you will find a dark, primordial forest, whose gloomy shadows cling to the serpentine path of a slow moving mountain stream. 

Follow that snake's back, until you find a small, hidden grove of five grotesquely twisted and contorted O-akin trees, which strangely mimic human form.  This is where you will find me, patiently waiting, with my four sisters, among the flickering silhouettes of canopy light, beside a sparkling, crystal-clear stream of gently flowing water.  I am posed as a romantic lover, kneeling at the feet of the "Enticing Wild Woman Tree" and passionately kissing her down-stretched hand.

I know that it seems odd, but sometimes I still feel very alone and desperately long for the sound of a human voice and the warmth of a human touch.  So please come... rest in our cool shade, drink my sweet spring water, and partake of our gourmet mushrooms, if you like.  You will find them quite delicious and quite digestible.