Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [39]
Seeing the replica of her dead brother, Sarein seemed entirely at a loss. Celli felt like giggling at her stuffy sister’s discomfiture.
Beneto, covered with vibrant woodlike flesh, was a man-shaped manifestation of the worldforest, a mobile extension of the great trees. The role was perfect for him. Celli remembered her brother’s joy in serving the sentient trees, before he had gone off to be a steward of the grove on Corvus Landing. Now, reincarnated like this, he seemed to relish the feel of beaten earth under his feet. He could move his arms and legs, even smile with pliable lips when he saw his parents, his sisters. And the trees could experience everything through him.
“A spark of all green priests lives inside the memory of the trees,” he continued to the fascinated audience. “I carry a seed of every previous green priest, yet I still have my own memories and personality intact.” The golem reached up with blunt wooden fingers to touch the contours of his face. “Beneto,” he said, as if reassuring himself of his own identity.
Celli hunkered down next to her good friend Solimar, sitting with her limber knees pulled to her chest, and let her arm touch his. He nudged her, and she nudged him playfully back. Enjoying Solimar’s closeness, she leaned against the broad-shouldered young green priest. He grinned.
Around them, the worldforest remained oddly silent. For months, teams of Roamer engineers had worked to clear deadwood, establish irrigation trenches, shore up retention walls, and plant soil-matrix mats of fast-growing grasses. But only a few days earlier, the work teams of Roamer engineers had packed up and departed, fearing that the Earth Defense Forces would hunt them down here, even though Theroc was supposed to be an independent world. Reluctantly, they had left the Therons to complete the restoration of their devastated forest.
Celli could see the forest still had far to go in its recovery. Why did the EDF have to cause problems at a time like this?
“The worldforest knows its danger,” Beneto said, his voice portentous. Her brother did not seem to breathe at all. His chest did not rise and fall, but he took in enough air to make his words. “The hydrogues know where to find us, and they will return. They will not forget their vendetta against the verdani. We cannot adequately defend ourselves. Therons and Roamers alone cannot protect us, nor can the Earth Defense Forces. Therefore, we must do something new to ensure the survival of the worldforest.”
The priests reacted anxiously to the news, though none of them pretended that the hydrogues would simply forget about them. Many glanced toward the cloud-dappled skies, as if warglobes might descend at any moment.
Celli’s uncle Yarrod stood next to her parents, looking grim, though now that she thought about it, she couldn’t ever remember Yarrod having much of a sense of humor. Alexa and Idriss couldn’t hide their excitement at seeing their son, even if he was no longer their flesh and blood.
“I speak for the trees now. That is why I have been grown from the heartwood, to come among you—and to ensure that the verdani survive.” He swiveled his head. “I call on the green priests to begin an urgent dispersal now. Instead of planting the new treelings here on our burned and barren slopes, distribute the worldforest to as many safe planets as possible.”
Sarein reacted with delight when she heard the suggestion. Celli could see the gleam of excitement in her sister’s eyes. This would be quite a political triumph for Sarein, who, for some time now, had been trying to encourage more green priests to ride Hansa spacecraft, where their telink communication skills would prove invaluable for the timely exchange of information.
“The Hansa will be glad to assist your efforts by carrying the trees and green priests on its ships,” Sarein blurted. “Planting more treelings and distributing green priests will expand the communications network across our colony planets.” Obviously, she wished the green priests would stay aboard the ships themselves,