A mere sixty miles west of Olympia, Tamia felt like she’d driven straight into the Mesozoic era. After making good time on the highway, she’d spent the past twenty minutes jostling down a gravel road between walls of towering, moss-covered trees and ferns as tall as her old Toyota’s windows. This was truly a fitting habitat for a retired botanist.

Dr. Barbara Block, Professor Emeritus of the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, had finally contacted her. Tamia had written to her during her initial zeal about the plant project. She regretted it now, but given that she’d used the implied interest of the governor’s office to get a response, trying to ignore her at this point might create even more complications.

And to be honest, the botanist’s secrecy had intrigued Tamia. Dr. Block hadn’t wanted to talk on the phone or exchange e-mails either. She only wanted to speak in person, and since this wasn’t strictly government business, Tamia had canceled her Saturday hair appointment and scheduled a visit with Dr. Block.

Of course, this could turn out to be another waste of time, like her phone call with Mrs. Lemuelson. What if the scientist turned out to be a crazy old cat lady who just wanted company? Although, a botanist would probably have an army of houseplants instead of cats. Well, if nothing else, it was a chance to get out into a new forest she hadn’t explored yet.

Tamia finally reached Dr. Block’s driveway at the end of the gravelly road. She parked and smoothed her hair down in the rear view mirror before getting out of the car. She followed a short path to a modest bungalow, then knocked on the door and waited. Given how out of date faculty directory photos usually were, she was expecting to be eye-level with a wiry halo of white hair. But when the door swung open, Tamia was surprised to have to tilt her head up slightly to look Dr. Block in the eye.

The botanist extended her hand. “Tamia, good to meet you.”

Tamia smiled. Dr. Block actually remembered how to pronounce her name. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” She shook the scientist’s hand. “Thank you again for seeing me.”

Dr. Block’s smile revealed straight, strong-looking teeth. Her eyes were bright and her salt and pepper hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail. She was wearing cargo pants and a T-shirt with a pocketed vest over it, and she looked down approvingly at Tamia’s long hiking pants and sturdy shoes.

Let’s get going, shall we?” Dr. Block picked up a backpack by the door and stepped outside, waving Tamia over to her truck. “Hop in.”

Where are we heading?” Although, it was a little bit late to be wary now, wasn’t it? She was already out in the middle of nowhere with someone she didn’t know.

It’s not far,” said the older woman. “It was right under my nose the whole time.”

As the truck jostled down the gravel road, Dr. Block reached behind her seat to rummage around in her backpack. She pulled out a bottle of water for Tamia. “It’s the closest I can get to offering you a cup of tea.”

Tamia blushed, thinking about her mistaken image of Dr. Block as a little old tea-sipping cat lady. “Thanks.”

So tell me, why did you contact me in particular?”

Well, to be honest,” said Tamia, “I contacted a few people, but you got back to me first.”

Dr. Block laughed tersely. “Who else did you try?”

Um, a guy named Nelson and a woman—Brady.”

Dr. Block nodded. “And they’ll both hand you off to their research assistants, who will give you as much time as the governor’s office should get, out of courtesy, but not a minute more. They’re ‘serious’ scientists,” she said, puffing up her chest in a caricature of pride. “They don’t go in for a bunch of hocus pocus.”

Do you?”

Maybe it’s not just hocus pocus.” Dr. Block glanced at Tamia before turning back to the road. “Don’t worry, I’m not crazy.”

Of course not,” said Tamia, wondering if this was the kind of thing people heard just before they disappeared forever.

I can’t verify any of the incidents you’re asking about, but I can tell you that trees are capable of a lot more than most people think they are.”

Like what?”

Like . . .” She glanced over at Tamia again. “Well, everyone knows that plants and trees respond to their environments in many ways. Flowers open to the sun, leaves turn color and drop in the fall, the growth rate and shape of trees are affected by water and wind as well as light.”

She slowed to take a curve and went on. “Most plants react to their environments incrementally. But some reactions happen very quickly, noticeably enough for the casual observer. Think Venus flytrap, or the ‘sensitive plant,’ whose leaves curl up when touched. We usually think of these interactions as reactions, like when the doctor bangs on your knee during an exam. You wouldn’t think of the leg as having made a conscious decision to jump, would you?”

No.”

Well, what would you say if I told you that trees are not just passively responding to their environments? That they are actively communicating with each other—and maybe soon with us?”

Dr. Block pulled onto the overgrown shoulder of the road and climbed out of the truck. Tamia jumped out and followed her through damp, thigh-high weeds into a wooded area.

Research has shown,” said Dr. Block, “that when certain plants are being attacked, chewed on by insects for example, they release chemical signals into the air to ‘tip off’ neighboring plants, which then start mounting their own defenses. Even if they aren’t attacked themselves, the surrounding plants produce their own chemical inhibitors to discourage attackers. The damaged plant is effectively warning its neighbors.”

I read about this,” Tamia said. “I’ve also read that trees communicate through this network of fungus underground. It was described as the internet for plants.”

That’s right, the ‘Wood Wide Web’,” Dr. Block said, crooking her fingers into quotation marks. She rolled her eyes. “I hate that name. Anyway, yes, trees share nutrients and information through these mycorrhizal networks underground. We can’t actually tap the line to hear what they’re saying, but we do know that they swap sugars, and they seem to signal changes in environmental conditions to other trees in the network.”

Dr. Block unzipped her backpack and produced a small metal box attached to a flat, woven strap. “You may have heard about the Grenoble team—the university lab in France that has developed the ability to listen in on the xylem, or circulatory system, of trees.”

Right,” said Tamia. “They hear a popping sound when trees aren’t getting enough water.”

Dr. Block smiled. “You’ve been doing your homework. Here, hold this up there for a moment.” Tamia held the box against the smooth, mottled trunk of an alder while Dr. Block walked the strap around and cinched it up. “As you probably know, the pressure of the water being pulled up through the trunk creates air bubbles when there isn’t enough water in the root system, like when you’re drinking out of a straw and have reached the bottom of your drink.”

And you can hear it with this machine?” asked Tamia.

Have a listen.” Dr. Block hooked a clunky set of earphones into the box and handed them to her. The older woman spoke over the faint, burbling crackle streaming through the headphones into Tamia’s ears: “We call this machine a circulatory translator. It has an internal processor to slow down and magnify the sound so we can actually hear it. Now hold still for a moment, and tell me what you hear.”

Tamia stood silently with the headphones on. In less than a minute, the fizzy popping subsided to nothing. “I can’t hear anything now.”

As soon as she spoke, the headphones started gurgling again.

It started up again, didn’t it?” asked Dr. Block. “Cavitation—that popping sound—isn’t supposed to just stop and start like that. And with all the rain we’ve gotten this summer, these trees should not want for water. So why that sound? Listen again.”

They stayed silent until the bubbling stopped again. “And now?” asked Dr. Block. The cavitation crackled back to life.

Dr. Block took the headset off Tamia. “Let’s do a little experiment. Would you go over to that other Douglas fir and whisper something?” She pointed about 50 yards ahead. “Just whisper. Don’t say it loud enough for me to hear. And don’t say anything you wouldn’t want me to hear.”

Tamia felt a bit silly, but set off toward the tree Dr. Block had picked out.

Oh, and face away from me when you say it!” yelled Dr. Block. “And make sure it’s something I couldn’t possibly know.”

Okay!” she yelled back. She usually had a pretty good sense about people, and Dr. Block didn’t seem like a wacko. Her opinion might change, however, depending on what this little eco-magic trick was all about. Tamia whispered her piece to the fir and tromped back over to Dr. Block.

Is this what you said?” asked the scientist, pointing at the display on the metal box.

AND I GAVE UP MY RELAXER FOR THIS

Tamia felt her face grow warm. “How did you—” She stopped and watched her new words populate the screen.

HOW DID YOU

Not ‘How did I.’ How did they?” the older woman asked, gesturing at the trees around them.

Someone must have mic-ed this forest,” said Tamia.

THIS FOREST rolled out onto the screen.

I thought you might say that,” Dr. Block said, unstrapping the device from the alder. “Here, speak into it.”

Tamia did, but her words failed to register. She narrowed her eyes and looked at Dr. Block.

Take it. You try it.” She pressed the box into Tamia’s hands.

Tamia held the box up against the tree while Dr. Block walked away and whispered into the forest. Tamia couldn’t hear anything, but the machine scrolled out the older woman’s words:

OVER MANY A QUAINT AND CURIOUS VOLUME OF FORGOTTEN LORE

What the hell is this?” Tamia breathed.

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ticked out onto the display.

Dr. Block came back and took the machine out of Tamia’s hands. “This is a very sensitive matter,” she said softly, holding the metal box up for emphasis. “I’m not supposed to have it anymore, and if they knew . . .” She returned the machine to her backpack. “Come with me,” she said, guiding Tamia toward the truck.

Tamia climbed into the truck and shut the door. She didn’t know what to think. Dr. Block had seemed so rational until now. But secret equipment? Some mysterious “they”?

I don’t think anyone’s listening,” said the older woman, “but you can’t be too careful. And since you contacted me, I believe now is the time to come forward—as long as I can get some cover from the governor.”

Tamia’s face flushed. “Cover for what? What is this?”

I believe,” said Dr. Block, “that this is the future of domestic surveillance.”

Come again?”

Simply put, surveillance trees.”

Okay, thought Tamia, all aboard the crazy train.

You know the popping sound you heard?” asked Dr. Block. “My lab was working for a number of years on ways to harness and channel that sound. Our work was protected, whereas the French team was able to make theirs public.”

You’re telling me you’ve been working on a secret surveillance project involving spy trees?” The air in Dr. Block’s truck began to feel close.

No, not directly,” answered the scientist. “At least, not to my knowledge. But I have reason to believe that someone else was.”

Who?”

Dr. Block cocked her head. “Think about it. Who would be interested in developing an undetectable, untraceable way of listening in on people?”

I don’t know,” stammered Tamia. “Lots of people. There are security cameras all over the place.” She’d never thought much about it before, and now that she did, it made her deeply uncomfortable. Who exactly was watching those cameras?

Dr. Block nodded. “Yes, but who would have the resources to put into something as speculative and potentially dangerous as biological surveillance, something that would require a massive outlay of resources? And whose budget is always the last to get cut?”

Tamia thought for a second. “Defense?”

The scientist said nothing, but her grim look told Tamia she’d guessed correctly.

I don’t know, this is all so . . .”

Far-fetched?” Dr. Block said. “Improbable? Unconstitutional? All of the above, if you ask me.”

Exactly,” said Tamia. “So why would they even try it? Especially now. Can you imagine the backlash if people found out the government was trying to invent trees that picked up every word they said?”

Not just trying, they already have. This didn’t start yesterday. No, it started years ago, back when the ends justified the means. You remember, after 9/11 it was all about security. Nobody gave a flip about privacy.”

How long has this been going on?” Tamia asked. “I mean, assuming that it’s really the trees—which I still . . .” She trailed off, unable to think of another explanation for what she’d just seen.

Dr. Block hesitated. “I have an idea how this might have happened, but I’d need some assurances before coming forward. I’d be risking, at the very least, my professional reputation—likely much more. In order to do that, I’d need some powerful people on my side. Like the governor.”

Tamia swallowed hard. The cab was getting warmer.

I know this sounds insane,” said the older woman. “But this isn’t just about one little patch of trees out in the boonies. I’ve traced this trait in several other sections of the forest, and with several different species. Every day that I go out there, I find new areas that have changed.”

Tamia was silent. This couldn’t be happening.

I can’t keep doing this alone,” pressed Dr. Block. “It’s too big. We need more people on this, more resources. Whatever mutation this is, we need to find out how far it’s spread.”

We?” asked Tamia, eyes wide.

You sought me out,” Dr. Block reminded her. “You said the governor wanted my help, didn’t you?” The scientist held Tamia’s eyes for an uncomfortable length of time before she started the truck and pulled back out on to the road. “I’m sure he’ll want a full report,” she said deliberately. “So let’s get back to my office and figure out where we go from here.”

Neither woman spoke on the drive back to the cabin. Tamia had no doubt Dr. Block was perceptive enough to have seen through her. She must have figured out that the governor hadn’t sent her out here. One call from the scientist to the governor’s office, innocent or otherwise, would probably get her canned for misrepresenting the office. Tamia couldn’t just slink out the back door and pretend her visit had never happened—and at the moment, she had too many questions to want to.