You’ll never look at a tree the same way again.

I’ve just finished a book called…

…Arborescence written by Rhett Davis; an unassuming Australian author who looks like he could be your mild-mannered accountant.

Or the guy who teaches a community college course on whale migration patterns. Basically, unremarkable. But in my opinion, this dude’s a superhero of wild, remarkable, fanciful storytelling.

Rhett’s novel is a compelling, gentle horror about society as we know it breaking down when billions choose to uproot their lives and ‘dig in’ to the earth, so that they may morph slowly, painfully and finally peacefully into… trees. It takes going green to a whole new level.

AI is also a side character in the book, a foil for all the arboreal mayhem. But it’s less ‘artificial intelligence’ and more alternative intelligence where the semi-sentient bots are disembodied bosses who hire and fire at will, using ‘beautiful actors’ as stand-ins for company meetings or new employee interviews.

I also interpreted Arborescence as an extreme antidote to ‘the busy contagion’ that continues to spread in our world; who are you if you’re not moving, doing, achieving, busying your body and mind relentlessly?!

Well. I gotta confess.

As I write this on my bed, sleep taunts me. It’s been a hectic week. Every second drenched with something to do. So.

While I won’t be digging my pinkies into any dirt any time soon, I kinda get the craving to stand still. Just make like a tree and not leave.

Normal, more alert, transmission will resume next week, friends.