A tentacle covered in velvety green fur, like moss but softer, wrapped around my wrist and held me fast. I froze, staring at it, trying not to scream. I had seen it before, in a pollen-fueled dream, but it had seemed less … organic, then. Everything Jeff and I had experienced in our hallucination of the scout ship had felt real. Now, looking at Second’s tentacle, I realized we had been experiencing the cheery cartoon version of our own species, with all its dangers and darkness cleansed away.

Some of the mossy fronds were longer than others, tipped in creamy yellow. Tiny parasites like aphids clung there, abdomens exposed to the air. Others were chewing on the moss. Second didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she just didn’t care; clearly, this was normal for her, even if it was terrifying and strange for me.

// hello, sister // she said. The words were accompanied by a soft fluting sound I guessed must be her native language.

I didn’t want to see her face. I didn’t want to turn around and know what she really looked like, what my eyes had interpreted as a friendly, lemur-like creature. I had accepted her as my sister. I had accepted her as my kind. I wasn’t sure acceptance could stand up to reality.

Another soft, fluting noise. // it is difficult, in the beginning. you may find me fearsome. but I will always be your sister. I will always care for you. in time, perhaps, you will care for me as strongly, and for the brothers and sisters we find in the next garden, waiting to be brought home. //

“Are you reading my mind?”

The tentacle constricted and then relaxed, a gesture I interpreted as laughter. // there is no need. the flowers tell me what your words mean—you have such a loud language, so sharp, so full of edges. it is like stony soil. it makes us richer. //

“Wait until you hear Mandy when she’s mad,” I muttered.

Another laugh from Second. // when I was carried from garden to homeship, I felt the same as you must be feeling now. all things around me were so strange, so different from the forest-cities I knew. the brother who greeted me was terrible to behold. he is my dearest friend and confidant now. he is very eager to meet you. your eye will grow accustomed to the sight of me, as your heart already has. //

“A homeship … Are we in space? Are we in outer space right now?”

// we are outside the range of your garden’s atmosphere by a hundred of your miles. // Second sounded, as always, infinitely patient. I was her charge, and she was going to take care of me. // we brought you here to prevent loss. one of the other seedlings was hurt. so badly hurt. she had to be tended, or she would not have lived. you, also, needed tending. //

“But the senator—”