Nettle was recorded in the genetic banks for a number of reasons. It has a considerable number of uses as a medicine, foodstuff, and even as the base for a variety of beer, but none of these were significant enough to warrant its inclusion. It is rather the fact that it is so attractive to a number of helpful insects, including species of butterflies and moths, that it was deemed to be useful in establishing a balanced ecosystem. Nettle is not dangerously invasive, merely unpleasant, as any gardener who has unintentionally grasped one with bare hands can attest. Unwanted nettle can be removed easily enough through manual weeding, as long as the proper precaution – a good set of gloves – is prepared in advance.
Illustration adapted from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz, 1885.
The new tree was named Ophion, after a giant from a non-existent mythology. As Dermot explained: « Ophion first appears in the Argonautica, in song sung by Orpheus. It’s a pseudo-myth devised by the author, Apollonius, to sound plausibly like something a god of initiation might pass along as a secret tradition. Over a thousand years later, a poet named Robert Graves makes up his own version of Greek mythology and incorporates this story. It’s a fiction within a fiction. The joke is that generations of university students took it seriously, believing that the Greeks believed in an ancient tradition about Ophion. »
« So Ophion is pretty much synonymous with complete compost, » Cillian concluded.
« Is that really the best name for one of our trees? » asked Evan.
« We’re making this one up as we go, » said Davy. « It fits. »
« How are you feeling? » asked Manasseh.
« Better, » said Davy, « but Vassali still hasn’t synched. It probably wasn’t the best idea for him to glom onto Rain. Rain was still getting adjusted himself. »
« Can we get back to business? » asked Briscoe. « We’ve been out of the loop for three days. Who knows what Mac’kellr has been up to? »
It was a matter much on Briscoe’s mind. SSOps had been monitoring Mac’kellr, but there had been surprisingly little activity, other than Merhna had joined him in his safe house, which was only to be expected. Something didn’t feel right.
We had already contacted some Cu’enashti we knew to be loyal – Ashpremma, Ashkaman, Philosophia – and asked them to put into effect Cillian’s plan to identify suspicious trees. Now Raoul arrived at the Ipsissimal Suite, bearing a preliminary analysis of the work done by the search team. As I scanned the information, Cillian made an observation: « It’s pretty funny that 78% of the trees which don’t show up on the satellite images are Cu’enmerengi. Guess they like their privacy. »
« No, that makes sense, » said Mickey. « Cu’enashti trees are venerated by their families, but Cu’enmerengi have no one to protect them. Given the spate of recent attacks, hiding seems like a reasonable strategy. »
« Only 3% of the Cu’ensali are bothering to hide themselves. Guess they don’t give a shit who sees them. But that 3% is looking very suspicious. »
« That percentage is artificially low, » said Tarlach, « because we can’t tell Cu’ensali trees from juvenile nau’gsh. »
« Don’t we have a clue at all? » asked Mickey. « This is becoming a real disadvantage. »
« Well, we now have data from Cu’ensali who have registered, » Tarlach replied. « We can make a few useful extrapolations. The oldest age of emanation is 100. It looks like trees older than that just don’t emanate, so we could eliminate the oldest trees as potential Cu’ensali. »
« Right, » said Owen. « Like it’s practical to age-test millions of trees. »
« It might have to be done, » said Aran. « This experience is showing us how dangerous it is to not have specific data. »
« We’ve always said that disclosure is voluntary, » Dermot protested.
« Times change, » Mickey countered. « Back in the day of the Great Reveal, we were all afraid of what would happen if humans discovered us. Now, it’s a bigger worry that humans will feel threatened by us due to a perception that we’re hiding from them. »
« Human law requires that births be registered, and a census is taken every decade, » said Ross. « These metrics are used in everything from reporting on economic prosperity to providing adequate education and health care. There’s a good argument to be made that the Cu’endhari should be included. »
« One hundred is old, » murmured Malachi. « Don’t Cu’enashti emanate much younger? »
« Based upon records of registered citizens, the oldest nau’gsh to emanate a Cu’enashti was fifty-three, » said Tarlach. « Sixty-two for Cu’enmerengi. Here, look at this. » Tarlach handed Malachi a datapad displaying a graph. « I should note that’s a record of Cu’endhari on Dolparessa. On Shambhala, there were some Cu’enashti emanations within a year, and, of course, Bhavashti emanate immediately. »
« Wait, » said Cüinn. « Not only are the Cu’ensali able to emanate from a much older tree, it looks like they start to emanate at a much later age. But 53% of Cu’enashti are already emanated by the time the tree is 15. »
« That’s a clear pattern, » said Mickey. « Cu’enashti first, then Cu’enmerengi, then Cu’ensali. Why would that happen? »
« Just theorizing here, » said Cüinn, « but I would guess it’s because the roots accumulate nul-matter, and after a certain point, a proto-Cu’enashti is too big to squeeze through, like Ailann couldn’t get out of the nul-chamber. Over time, more nul-matter accumulates, and then a Cu’enmerengi can’t fit either. »
« Size matters, » said Tommy and Cillian simultaneously before high-fiving each other.
« But here’s what I don’t get, » Cüinn continued, « why can’t Cu’ensali emanate from the start? It’s almost like the trees are holding out for something better. »
« They probably are, » said Briscoe. « Could you imagine Atlas infested with a Cu’ensali? »
« We don’t need to romanticize, » said Ethan. « A bigger nul-entity partner means more energy, which means more growth for the tree. It’s only rational that the trees prefer something big. »
« On the other hand, there’s enough of an evolutionary advantage in being a symbiont that they’ll take a Cu’ensali if they get desperate enough, » said Lorcan.
« It’s not such a strange concept, » said Tarlach. « Look at humans. Almost all of them have a vision of the ideal partner, but some of them settle for much less if they fear they’re losing out on time to build a family. »
« I don’t think we should discount romance so easily, » said Dermot. « Think back on Lens’ vision of when Atlas joined the original nul-entity. There was a definite volition when Atlas sought us out. It wanted to fulfil Tara’s destiny. It wasn’t about practicality. It was about purpose. »
« But there is a practical application to all of this, » said Solomon. « What if we cleaned the roots of the older trees? If we’re right, that should make the tree capable of housing a Cu’enashti again. Let’s say that every tree which is still juvenile gets a root cleaning every 15 years. Cu’ensali don’t emanate from trees that young. No mushrooms necessary. We’re not adding a filter so much as removing one. »
« That’s brilliant, » said Briscoe. « It will allow us to send the Cu’ensali home while almost eliminating the chance that they’ll be forced back, we can use the nul-matter we collect to house the Cu’ensali who want to stay, and we won’t have to murder any innocent trees. »
« And if the tree is already inhabited by an unemanated Cu’enashti or Cu’enmerengi, a root-cleaning won’t hurt, » said Owen.
« Actually, » said Cüinn, « it won’t need one. The roots will start to gather pos-matter, which will convert the nul-matter into energy. In fact, that’s a good way to predict which trees house nul-beings still to emanate in the future. »
« Lord Danak will have a fit, » said Ross. « Do you have any idea how much this will cost or how much time it will take? »
« Recruit the Cu’ensali, » answered Owen. « They benefit from access to the nul-matter. »
There was a tentative knock at the door.
« See? » said Tannon. « I’m not the only one who knocks. »
It was Vassali. « Can someone explain what’s going on? I feel like I really screwed up. »
Lugh gave him a big hug, asking, « Did you get your memories back? Darius kept them for you. »
« I did. I’m still disoriented, though. My memories are so vague, and I’m overwhelmed by information which makes no sense to me. »
« Let me see your branch, » said Rain, taking his hand. « It’s the Circinus galaxy, » he explained. « It’s very different from the other galaxies we’ve colonized, and as the only branch there, he’s having trouble making sense of the data. »
« The trick is to keep looking at Tara, » said Whirljack. « Let everything else drift into the background. You can always find it later if it turns out to be important. »
« Tara, » said Vassali. « When I first saw her, I knew I existed because of her, so I asked her why. But instead of answering me, she started asking me questions. Either I didn’t know the answer, or the answers disturbed me. I knew I was defective, but I couldn’t even imagine how much. She must’ve thought I was an imbecile. »
« I didn’t remember anything when I first emanated, » said Manasseh. « I messed up – in retrospect, it’s pretty funny, but at the time, it was very upsetting. You can access it in my branch if you like. »
« Tell us the first thing that you remember, » Tarlach suggested.
« Standing in the art studio, » said Vassali. « I could hear your voices in my head, but I couldn’t make sense of them. I was overwhelmed. It was so strange, just seeing, breathing, everything. I had a vague sense that there was something I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t remember it. Then I saw the mirrors, and I realized that I was looking at myself, and that my name was Vassali. But it was so strange. Was that really me? How could that be me? I touched my own face, and saw my hand move in the mirror. Who designed this? Who designed these sensory organs? These hands? It was crude and elegant at the same time. Certainly not the way any logical being would’ve designed them. »
« They grew organically, » said Malachi.
« That’s the hardest thing to understand, » said Vassali. « Organic life is baffling. »
« You don’t remember anything before that? » asked Cüinn. « Nothing about the nul-universe? »
« I think I remember being in here before, but it was like a dream. I kept spinning and spinning, but I couldn’t catch up. I wanted to. I really tried. »
He looked away. « Is it…is it okay that I’m here? Am I meant to exist? »
« Tara chose you, » said Whirljack.
Briscoe put his arm around Vassali. « Everything’s fine, » he said. « You’re one of us. »
« You’re still not synchronized, » said Malachi. « That’s what you were trying to do when you grabbed Rain. »
Vassali glanced at Rain, then looked away, ashamed. « Sorry, » he said. « I didn’t mean…»
« Water under the roots, » said Rain. « Forget about it. »
« The other problem was that you didn’t already have a branch, » said Malachi. « I just hope that the other nameless ones will bud out on Ophion. It would be horrible to go through this every time. »
« We desperately need an orientation module, » said Tarlach.
« It would actually be a good thing to have a new branch on Ophion very soon, » said Dermot. « I think it would help Vassali to get his bearings. »
« You know how Tara will feel about that, » said Ross. « Let alone Lord Danak. »
« She’ll probably be fine with it, if we do it the right way this time, » said Whirljack. « We have a careful search committee, and the candidates are vetted by Tara. »
« The sooner we fill out the pleroma, the better, » said Malachi. « The Mover will be the most effective and stable when totally balanced, even if all of the energies haven’t physically emanated. »
« We’re losing focus, » said Briscoe. « Mickey, help me out. We’ve got to find Mac’kellr. »
« We’re faced with a difficult problem, » said Solomon. « New emanations are beneficial because each one adds to our combined intellectual resources. »
« That’s not insignificant, » said Cüinn. « Let’s take Tannon, for example. Assuming that he has an average intellectual capacity, it might seem that by adding him, we’ve increased our overall mental resources by 1/52nd. But that’s not the case. Every emanation synergizes with every other emanation, and in k-combination for all emanations – but of course, we’ll discount the null set. So before Tannon, we had 251-1 or 2,251,799,813,685,247 combinations, but just by adding him, we have 252-1 or 4,503,599,627,370,495 combinations. That means through the addition of one emanation, we’ve increased our synergy 200.0000000000004% of the previous value! »
« You could just say 200% » said Rand.
« The answer requires at least sixteen significant digits, » Cüinn sniffed.
« I don’t have the faintest clue what he’s talking about, » said Whirljack.
« He said that adding another emanation increases our intellectual resources, » said Solomon. « Just like I did. »
« Cüinn’s formula has important implications, » said Tommy. « Say you wanted to figure out all your options in a pollen orgy. »
« Why are we discounting the null set? » asked Axel. « Anything from the nul-universe could be pertinent. »
« The null set and the nul-universe aren’t at all related, » said Cüinn. « In this case, the null set is the empty set, zero, goose egg. »
« I think Evan is right, » said Davy. « It should be dukk egg. »
« Cüinn, does your calculation take into account the added drain on our intellectual resources by the sheer amount of nonsense contributed by every emanation? » asked Mickey.
« Hmmm, » said Cüinn. « That’s probably some kind of wave interference pattern. »
« My point, » said Briscoe, with some frustration, « is that we don’t have the time to look right now. We’ve come up with a viable plan to deal with the Cu’ensali issue. Let’s put it into action, then worry about recruitment. »
« I could always make one, » said Davy. « The way that Atlas made Whirljack. »
I had been listening passively to their conversation while sharing Lemonzaid and sandwiches with Tara and Raoul, but now I had to intervene. “Absolutely not. There are so many sparks in the nul-universe, just waiting for a chance at existence.”
« The point is not altruism, » said Whirljack. « The point is Tara’s destiny. »
« Ailann is right », said Briscoe. « How can we deny others the chance to love Tara? It’s selfish. I’m not against recruitment; I just think we have to take first things first. »
« Bringing in outside entities increases diversity, » said Cüinn. « We’ll have a bigger gene pool. Well, not really a gene pool, but that’s why sexual reproduction is effective – genetic diversity. Which maybe affects the quality of our apples? Like maybe if we made our own parts the apples would turn out like those genetically modified ones that transport well but taste like plastic. »
« Whirljack’s apples taste perfectly good, » said Patrick.
« Well, » said Ethan, « we don’t have to be extremists about it. It doesn’t have to be all one way or the other. I can predict that it’s going to get harder and harder to find pieces to fit. I think as we get close to completion, we might have to make the right parts. »
This discussion was interrupted by the approach of Captain Zosim. “We received a communication from Mac’kellr,” he said. “He’s asking for Briscoe to meet him – he gave coordinates.”
“This is opportune,” I replied. “We believe we’ve found a solution to the Cu’ensali problem. All we have to do is get everyone to stop fighting long enough to listen to reason.”
“Ever the optimist,” said Tara. “You do realize the likelihood of that happening asymptotically approaches zero?”