Novel Ecosystem Novels & Stories

He half smiled. "Is that what you're doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because it's really smart." He laughed. "No, that isn't what I'm doing. I just think it would be a good learning tool for Nova to see the way ecosystems interact outside of this biome." He gestured to the forest around us. "Smart," I said. "That's just the environmentalist in me talking," he said. "I'm not that smart in real life." I laughed. "You're very smart, what are you saying?"

"That’s why we’re here, Kael. We aren't trying to stop the woods. We’re trying to learn how to walk through them without breaking anything." At the Institute, Anya was integrating the scouts’ data into a new model she was calling the "Organic Overlay." The Holarchy was no longer just a map of human districts; it was beginning to incorporate the biological nodes of the surrounding ecosystem. She sat before a large, horizontal display that looked more like a topographical map of a living organism than a city plan. "Lumen," Anya said, her voice a low murmur in the quiet room. "Overlay the northern timber harvest projections with the regional water table data we received this morning."

"I've seen parts." Valerie lifted her eyes. "Then tell me the parts." Evelyn studied the drawing for several moments. "When the Continuum grew beyond our ability to measure it, we stopped thinking of it as a machine." She touched the isolated circle gently. "We started thinking of it as an ecosystem." Valerie looked back at the sketch. "The separate one?" Evelyn nodded. "Every system contains something that observes without becoming the system itself." "The Witness?" "We hoped so." The answer felt uncertain.