Laumer, Keith - Hybrid

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2024-11-24 0 0 87.45KB 10 页 5.9玖币

侵权投诉

Hybrid

By Keith Laumer

Deep in the soil of the planet, rootlets tougher than steel wire probed

among glassy sand grains, through packed veins of clay and layers of

flimsy slate, sensing and discarding inert elements, seeking out

calcium, iron, nitrogen.

Deeper still, a secondary system of roots clutched the massive face of

the bedrock; sensitive tendrils monitored the minute trembling in the

planetary crust, the rhythmic tidal pressures, the seasonal weight of

ice, the footfalls of the wild creatures that hunted in the mile-wide

shadow of the giant Yanda tree.

On the surface far above, the immense trunk, massive as a cliff, its

vast girth anchored by mighty buttresses, reared up nine hundred yards

above the prominence, spreading huge limbs in the white sunlight.

The tree was only remotely aware of the movement of air over the

polished surfaces of innumerable leaves, the tingling exchange of

molecules of water, carbon dioxide, oxygen. Automatically it reacted to

the faint pressures of the wind, tensing slender twigs to hold each

leaf at a constant angle to the radiation that struck down through the

foliage complex.

The long day wore on. Air flowed in intricate patterns; radiation waxed

and waned with the drift of vapor masses in the substratosphere;

nutrient molecules moved along capillaries; the rocks groaned gently in

the dark under the shaded slopes. In the invulnerability of its titanic

mass,·the tree dozed in a state of generalized low-level consciousness.

The sun moved westward, Its light, filtered through an increasing depth

of atmosphere, was an ominous yellow now. Sinewy twigs rotated,

following the source of energy. Somnobntly, the tree retracted tender

buds against the increasing cold, adjusted its rate of heat and

moisture loss, its receptivity to radiation. As it slept, it dreamed of

the long past, the years of free-wandering in the faunal stage, before

the instinct to root and grow had driven it here. It remembered the

grove of its youth, the patriarchal tree, the sporebrothers.

...

It was dark now. The wind was rising. A powerful gust pressed against

the ponderous obstacle of the tree; great thews of major branches

creaked, resisting; chilled leaves curled tight against the smooth

bark.

Deep underground, fibres hugged rock, transmitting data which were

correlated with impressions from distant leaf surfaces. There were

ominous vibrations from the northeast; relative humidity was rising,

air pressure falling--a pattern formed, signalling danger. The tree

stirred; a tremor ran through the mighty branch system, shattering

fragile frost crystals that had begun to form on shaded surfaces.

Alertness stirred in the heart-brain, dissipating the euphoric

dreampattern. Reluctantly, long dormant faculties came into play. The

tree awoke.

Instantly, it assessed the situation. A storm was moving in off the

sea--a major typhoon. It was too late for effective measures. Ignoring

the pain of unaccustomed activity, the tree sent out new shock roots--

cables three inches in diameter, strong as stranded steel--to grip the

upreared rock slabs a hundred yards north of the tap root.

There was nothing more the tree could do. Impassively, it awaited the

onslaught of the storm.

"That's a storm down there," Malpry said.

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Laumer, Keith - Hybrid

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