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"None of us, no matter what continent or island or ice cap, asked to be born in the first place, and that even somebody as old as I am, which is 80, only just got here."
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
 |
| Gum Tree | ||
| A huge tree that lashed out with a mind of its own. |
| It was a big, imposing tree. Its dark green, fibrous trunk, seven feet in diameter, soared up to twenty-five feet before it split into strong, lengthy branches each of which terminated in one huge, spatulate leaf...
Carefully, we went around the tree, gazing up into its great branches through which the green light filtered in large mosaic patterns... “That’s a puzzler !” Jepson stepped well away from the trunk, seeking a better angle of view. With a mighty swoosh a branch above his head drove down. Its spatulate leaf smacked him squarely in the back and a waft of pineapple and cinnamon went all over the place. Just as swiftly, the branch went up, carrying Jepson high into the air. Swearing like a tail mechanic, he struggled furiously while we gathered below him. He was stuck to the underside of that great leaf, gradually became covered in thick, yellowy-green goo as he writhed... Together we roared at him to keep still before he got the deadly junk spread all over his face. Already his clothes were covered with it, his left arm tied up in it. He looked a mess... Whereupon I aimed my needle ray at the point where Jepson’s leaf joined the branch. The beam lanced forth at full strength.
 ('Gum Tree' from Symbiotica by Eric Frank Russell) The leaf dropped off and the tree went mad. Jepson fell into soft, springy undergrowth, the leaf still firmly fastened to his back. He landed with a wild yelp and a flood of curses. While we all lay flat, frantically trying to bury ourselves deeper, the tree thrashed around, its gum-laded spatulates hungry for vengeance. One persistent branch kept beating within a yard of my head as I tried to shove said top piece below ground. The tree ended its wild larruping, stood like a dreaming giant liable to wake into frenzy at any moment. Crawling to Jepson, we dragged him out of reach. He couldn’t walk, his jackboots and the legs of his pants being firmly stuck together. |
| Technovelgy from Symbiotica,
by Eric Frank Russell. Published by Astounding Science Fiction in 1943 Additional resources -
|
Fans of the Harry Potter books may be reminded of the whomping willow at Hogwarts castle.
You could compare the gum tree with this tree from Skylark of Space (1928) by Doc Smith:
(Tree from 'Skylark of Space' by Doc Smith)
The great tree standing on the farther edge of the island suddenly bent over, lashing out like a snake and grasping both. It transfixed them with the terrible thorns, which were now seen to be armed with needlepoints and to possess barbs like fish-hooks. It ripped at them with the long branches, which were veritable spears. The broad leaves, armed with revolting sucking disks, closed about the two animals, w'hile the long, slender twigs, each of which was now seen to have an eye at Its extremity, waved about, watching each movement of the captives from a safe distance.If the struggle between the two animals had been awful, this was Titanic. The air was torn by the roars of the reptile, the screams of the great cat, and the shrieks of the tree. The very ground rocked with the ferocity of the conflict. There could be but one result — soon the tree, having absorbed the two gladiators, resumed its upright position in all its beauty.
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Additional
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and Technology from Symbiotica
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and Technology by Eric Frank Russell
Tech news articles related to Symbiotica
Tech news articles related to works by Eric Frank Russell
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- Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore
| Lunar Biorepository Proposed For Cryo-Preservation Of Earth Species |
| Let's Make Slaver Sunflowers! Engineering Plants To Reflect Light |
| Machete-Wielding Philodendron Isn't Going To Take It Anymore |
| Tsunami Forecasts Improved By Ionosphere Signals |
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'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
