A new species of tree discovered on a garbage dump in Lima
Lima (Peru) - September 7, 2045 - On the South landfill of Lima, botanists have discovered the birth of a forest composed of a new species of tree that grows on our waste. The news attracts entrepreneurs who see a new source of profit.
Sebastiàn J. - IPCC: "In recent years, the acceleration of climate change has resulted in making the differences between seasons less and less distinct and predictable. This is obviously catastrophic for human agriculture and food production and explains the shortages that affect all continents today. We can no longer speak of the four seasons in the year. We live in a single season year round, violent and never identical. Let's call it the fifth season."
Jesus E. is seven years old, he has been working for two years on the South landfill of Lima, considered by the waste professionals as the most profitable because of its proximity to the upmarket districts of the city. His role is to look for valuable materials, and to collect the remains of clothes and objects that could have been valuable.
The child has no complaints, except for a burn in his lungs every time he coughs. His parents love him, he can see them every day, he eats his fill almost every day. He has made friends on the dump and sometimes they have fun.
During one of his inspections, he climbs a hill of waste to get to a little-used area. In the distance he sees a small tree. As he gets closer, he realizes that there are about ten of them scattered among the garbage. The biggest one must have been about two meters tall. Its leaves were beautiful, nicely shaped. Some were red, some yellow and some green, or blue-green. When he returned home, he told his parents about it. His father, who had studied biology before becoming a farm worker, was intrigued by what he said. That evening they returned to the dump despite the dangers of walking around town after dark. The child knew the way by heart, and with the help of their flashlights, they were soon on the spot.
To their great surprise, they discovered that the leaves of the trees were slightly phosphorescent. It was a magical sight in the dark. His father carefully examined the leaves and took a small sample to send to a biologist friend in China. Jesus was very proud. As a child, he could not remember ever seeing his father's face so happy and alive.
A scientific team from Beijing arrived at the airport in Lima. Jesus E. and his father were waiting for them in the lobby. A few days earlier, a biologist friend had confirmed that the child had discovered a new species of tree. These trees know how to decompose human waste, even the most toxic, and exploit it for their growth. Basically, they do what they have always done: the tree adapts to any environment and produces no waste. One of the researchers says to the father in the cab taking them to the dump: we could call this new species “the Jesus tree”, what do you think?"
________
Trees have lived on Earth for half a billion years. They influence the climate to colonize the desert, capture energy from the sun with unparalleled efficiency, turn their waste into a source of life, and cooperate with all other living species. They are much more intelligent than humans. We know that they communicate with each other. But what if they wrote?
Their branches would not grow randomly, but would bear witness to their life's work. A writing in space, of a complexity that ridicules our alphabets and our ideograms. They take care of the calligraphy and refine their text each spring. They express themselves in a language without words, without gaps between words, an unheard of language.
What do they say? Are they talking to each other? Talking with everything, with mushrooms, insects, forest animals, wind, clouds, rain? Do they write simply for their pleasure? Or are they trying to send us a message? Perhaps they are telling us to slow down, to give up.