The device glowed as it responded, “Identicapture enabled. Proceed.”

Eva aimed the Omnipod in the birds’ direction and the device emitted an electronic ping. Seconds later, a perfect three-dimensional hologram of the bird, with its three pairs of wings, floated like a model over the Omnipod’s central eye. Underneath the hologram, charts and menus fluttered as the Omnipod attempted to identify the creature. At last the device reported, “Kingdom, phylum, and species: unknown.”

“That’s weird,” Eva said. She examined the Omnipod for damage. “I thought you could identify anything.” As she flipped the device over, a glimmer of bright light reflected from its lacquered metallic finish, spooking the roosting birds. Eva watched as the flock chattered loudly and flew off toward the horizon. She then discovered the source of the reflected light. Beneath heavy, hazy clouds a colossal ball of brilliant white appeared in the sky. Beams of light erupted from its fiery core, skewering the purple-blue sky as they illuminated it.

“Oh, no!” cried Eva. She cowered into a ball on the leafy platform. “It’s too big! It’s too big!” Eva covered her eyes with her hands. “It’s much brighter than the holos. It’s going to burn me!” A warmth radiated into her body, and cracks of orange light leaked in between her pale bony fingers. After she dared a peek through them, Eva drew in her breath and sat up. The sun rose in the moody morning sky, unveiling the surrounding landscape as it did so.

Far to the east, just below the rising sun, a jagged horizon of mountains poked their enormous pointed backs up toward the hazy atmosphere. As far as Eva could see, a forest thick with interlocking trees stretched to the north and to the south. From the forest edge, gravel and stones peppered the plain, which surrounded Eva’s tree in all directions. Behind her, to the west, more thickset irregular trees—like the one she was perched in—were clustered together. Their entire mass was a rich olive green, and as Eva studied them closely, she realized that they were . . . moving.

Moving?

She scooted to the edge of her leafy platform and gaped down at the ground below. Lichen-plastered rocks and loose gravel scrolled underneath at a steady pace as the tree ambled on hundreds of small rootlike legs. It reminded Eva of the holograms she had seen of millipedes crawling over the ground.

“Walking trees? I don’t remember studying those,” Eva said, perplexed, her brow furrowed.

Her tunic chirped, “Your hydration level is low, Eva Nine. Please hydrate immediately. Thank you.”

Eva sat up and tapped the patch on the shoulder of her tunic to confirm that she had received the message. The animated shoulder patch showed a graphic of Eva with statistics, such as height, weight, body temperature, and the time.