Emerald

Epilogue

Slowly It glides into a relaxed state again and considers the informations of its planet-spanning root network. The threat is fended off, everything is quiet and peaceful once again. The ugly scars of the burning are sealed, most of the strange objects are integrated, dissolved, processed into metallic nutrients so rare in the planet's soil. Only a few of the materials are more persistent and will take longer to be assimilated. But very soon nothing will remain to remind It of the unexpected visit of the strangers. One more time It survived a crisis more or less unscathed.

Contently, It turns its attention back to the strategical defences necessary to survive the next cold period. Its existence is shaped by nothing more than this never ending cycle. There is still time, but It knows from experience the value of careful preparations. Many of the saplings will die in the fires and the cold anyway. But others will survive under the protection of older trunks. It will group the oldest trees in different spots around the planet closely. So, at least some of them will survive the hard times, the roots with the important sentient cells interwoven tightly. Of course there always remains the possibility It will be damaged and impaired by the loss of a considerable part of its biomass. But It developed the ability to retreat deep into the root bales a long time ago, hibernating during the worst times. It is confident to survive the next crisis as it did all the ones before.

It's thoughts wander lazily back to the intruders. It took It a while to understand that the silvery fire flash wasn't actually the bearer of consciousness but only an inanimate hull for several tiny individual entities. Astounding how such small and young beings without proper roots were able to develop an independent consciousness.

It absorbed these entities carefully, assimilating and integrating their essence into its own ageless mind. It feels a sort of curiosity, the wish to take some time to get to know and understand these visitors better. It remembers a time when there where other beings on this planet, acting independently. But they never developed a considerable individual consciousness. They are long gone, extinct in the fires and the cold. Some of them It integrated, or destroyed them deliberately. In the beginning, It generously accepted the crawling entities, even let them eat fractions of its young leaves. But during the next crisis, almost all saplings died. They were not strong enough to withstand the strains. Now, the whole planet is under It's control, well organised in harmony.

And at this point, those strangers arrived to burn down countless old trunks. Natural fires are very rare outside the crisis period. They are easy to control and to limit onto small areas between the water courses. But It had no way to withstand the firestorm of the visitors. So it preferred to wait and watch while slowly repairing the damage. Only when the strangers started to endanger precious saplings It finally decided to intervene.
Fascinated, It sifts through the collected informations of the different conscious entities and delves into their study. A lot seems without sense, but with time, it learns to discern some emotions and concepts. It's mesmerised by the notions of 'curiosity', 'love', 'anxiousness', 'happiness', 'despair', and 'hope'. It decodes expressions like 'human', 'ship', 'engine', and 'expedition'. And it grasps the dilemma the strangers faced when they felt obliged to burn countless trees while at the same time wanting to preserve the planet's integrity. They never even felt satisfaction with the destruction at their hands.

Slowly, It sifts through the memories of the visitors. They all show a world hostile to life and close to destruction, a planet suffocating under a cover of spoilt air, poisoned water, and lifeless stone. It understands the urge of these beings to search a new habitat. Sooner or later, there surely will be other visitors, following the tracks of these first ones. One day It will have to deal with more than one silver ship, will have to face the challenge of a new menace.

The planet turns a few times before It reaches out through its extensive network of roots and checks the situation on the surface. Still in a thoughtful mood, It feels the cool rain in one region, the scorching heat in another. There, It quickly moves some saplings into the shade of the canopy. This problem solved, it continues contemplating the more exotic concepts of the strangers. One of them catches It's fancy: Each of these beings owns an individual name, used to set it apart from the others. They even bothered to name It as well. Before it finally returns to care for It's planet, It repeats the foreign word several times to itself.

It likes the sound of it. It will keep the name.

Emerald.