Skip to main content

Trying to find a sci-fi short story about humans accidentally eating "hibernating" plant people


So I read this short story in the mid to late 90's and I am trying to find it again.


I'm pretty sure I read it in my older sister's English textbook. I think it was included in the text.


From what I remember, humans discover a planet with buildings and plowed fields and plants growing in the fields and no herbivores on the planet, but they can't find any intelligent life. They live on the planet for awhile, start eating some of the plants in the field, but then a guy figures out the plants ARE the intelligent life and that they're in a sort of hibernation/dormant phase. I think he figures this out based on murals on the walls of the buildings. When the plant people "wake up" they reclaim their lost tissues from the people who ate them.


What is the name of this story?



Answer



This is Velvet Fields by Anne McCaffrey and the entire short story can be read here at Lightspeed Magazine


One synopsis is:




First printed in Worlds of If. Reprinted in by editors Roelof Goudriaan, Frank Ludlow, and John Joseph Adams.


When Earth colonists arrive at Zobranoirundisi, the cities are abandoned. The former residents are nowhere to be found on this Eden-like planet of velvet fields. But a biologist discovers that the plants go through various stages of life until they become sentient. The colonists have done irreparable damage and are required to pay whatever reparations the newly born-again, indigenous sentients. They remove the human’s tongues in what seems like a metaphoric gesture. It seems important that the humans do tell their tale.



Additionally, the ISFDB entry.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more