h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Chapter 19

I was about to hurl some particularly choice invective at Uncle Floyd when the First Mate interrupted: "Excuse me, Captain, but there's something you really need to see."

Turning, I saw a line of crew members rushing up the stairs with buckets of water, which they emptied over the railing and then returned below to refill the buckets. So this was all that stood between us and sinking!

"No, not that," the First Mate said, turning me so that I could see the island, which seemed much larger now that we were closer to it.

There was a beautiful, pristine beach. Beyond the beach there was an evergreen forest which thinned out as it reached the trunk of the largest tree I had ever seen. "We call it the One Tree, father of us all," the Oracle Tree said into my earphones. Looking closer at the One Tree, I thought I could see a small village clustered around its trunk.

"So we aren't the first humans to reach the island after all," I said in disappointment.

"What makes you think humans are the only ones that can make houses?" the Oracle Tree asked. "The One Tree anticipated your arrival, and decided to grow some dwellings for you to live in. Behold the attachments between the tree and the houses!"

Sure enough, every house was attached to the big tree by a branch.

"That's how you will get electricity," the Oracle Tree explained.

"We may need more than electricity if we're stranded here long enough," I muttered.

"I think the big tree has it covered," the First Mate said. "See that grey cloud over there? It's a swarm of bees. Each bee seems to be clutching a caterpillar, which spins part of a fishing net."

I watched as the bees, acting in unison, carried the net to the sea and dipped it into the water. A few minutes later, they raised the net and carried it, full of wriggling fish, over to a rock-bordered clearing where a makeshift barbecue pit had been set up. Once the fish had been deposited on the surface of a large, dented rock, a bolt of electricity from the big tree zapped them precisely until they were nicely cooked.

The ship barely made it to shore without sinking. Much of the crew stayed on board to repair the hull and remove the rest of the water. Uncle Floyd, the helmsman, the first mate and a few others accompanied me onto the island. As we approached the barbecue pit, we could see a flock of birds pulling a sled on which several clay pots had been placed. The pots contained a very fine wine. We later learned that the island's bees had collected nectar from flowers and allowed it to ferment in the pots.

"Impressive technology for an island with no large animals," the helmsman said approvingly.

"I expect that there's a kiln somewhere on the island," the first mate said, examining the clay pots. "And we know that the big tree is capable of firing pottery with its stream of electricity."

"I agree that it's impressive, but a tree that's capable of knowing what we would want before we even got here *probably* has the power to make our life hard if we don't return the favor in some way," I said. "We have a leaky ship and a sharp-edged reef to get across if we want to escape. We are definitely in the tree's power."

Today's chapter seems a bit longer than most. Sorry about that. I wanted to end with a bit of suspense so people could hardly wait to see what comes next....

It's taking an interesting turn and gaining substance.

[Amy P]

I greatly enjoy reading your adventurous story. The island's Big Tree is very versatile and extremely gifted.

Fine wine, barbies, sounds like a great place to be...ah but that tree...hmmm?

Pardon the expression but this story seems to be branching out even more than I expected