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

Chapter 20

If there was one thing I learned over the next few weeks, it was this: No matter how sentient a tree might be, it was still a tree. The One Tree wanted survival for himself/herself and continuance of his/her species, but vengeance was a silly, pointless thing that belonged wholly to animals, which (in the Tree's view) were lower life forms.

Not once did any of the trees on the island express opinions on music or dance or art. Not having eyes or ears, this was understandable. They could, however, feel it when the sun set, the temperature changed, or the earth around their roots rumbled.

It didn't take long for the One Tree to get to the point about his/her hopes for us. Except for the Oracle Tree, no other Arborvilla specimens existed anywhere else, we were told. When we asked how the One Tree knew this, we were told that Arborvillas could communicate over long distances by radio waves. The Oracle Tree was the only off-island Arborvilla that had ever communicated in this way.

The One Tree went on to say that the pattern of deep-earth rumblings over his/her lifetime indicated that a crisis point was approaching: before long, another volcanic blast was due to come, with the probable extinction of most life on the isle. Hearing these words, I began to guess how things had played out: The One Tree sent a message to the Oracle Tree, which told Andrea Doria that the island's destruction would leave the planet with no more Arborvillas. Andrea asked Uncle Floyd to lead an expedition there before the island ceased to be habitable, but Uncle Floyd was too far along in years for anything so arduous. That led him to think of my upcoming retirement, and a plan was set in motion.

Being a master of treachery, Uncle Floyd realized that I would never volunteer for any such adventure if I thought he might do it himself, so he cooked up a scheme to fake his own death. He knew me well enough to grasp that I would not catch on until it was too late. In this he was correct.

Meanwhile, we were busy exploring the island, which had numerous coconut trees and flowering plants, some of which bore tasty fruit. With coconuts, fruit, seafood, and whatever remained of our shipboard supplies, we looked forward to having enough to eat.

I hope that the trees can be saved or some way of getting them off the island and replanted somewhere safer.

[Amy P]

How long would a seed take to become sentient?

How long before humanity does?

"How long would a seed take to become sentient?" [FWR]

I don't to deal with this in the story itself, but I imagine that a sentient tree would become sentient at about the same time that a human does. This may not seem like much if you're not too keen on human intelligence, but a sentient tree would keep getting wiser as the centuries went by. Most humans are dead long before the end of their first century.