TECH
The Intergalactic
Space Chronicle
When Organs Grow on Trees
By William Freedman
My summer trips to the countryside were always something I looked forward to. Of course, the floating water cabin, the lake with the dolphins, and the timeless s’mores were all memorable. But there was nothing like the feeling I got when we would pass by those endless experimental orchards that had weirder and wackier crops every year.
My earliest memory of the orchards was when they grew water pods on the trees. I remember looking out over the field of crystal drops seemingly sustained in mid-air below the leafy branches.
My Dad would always stop by a viewpoint looking out to the orchards and we’d have a picnic. Together we'd try to imagine where all the produce of these trees would be going. Who would be receiving these drops? And how would they peel it without spilling it all?
My favorite crop was the few years when they grew mango popsicles on the trees. Obviously, there weren’t sticks with ice on the trees. However, they did manage to engineer a fruit that self froze on the inside. So when you peeled it you could bite into a chilled refreshing summer treat. But I think perhaps this year may have been the most shocking crop I have seen in my whole life.
As I was searching for a viewing point for my family, the odd sight of human hearts on trees came into view. Rows and rows of hearts, lungs, and kidneys spread out before us below the branches. Each neatly packed in a transparent air-tight pod.
Though I appreciated the technological advancement and the organic solution to organ production, which is certainly better than organ printing, I did wonder if it was an appropriate venue for a picnic.
Nevertheless, tradition is tradition. As I parked our car and began to arrange the picnic with my wife, I watched as my children gazed out at the odd orchards and I couldn’t help but wonder, what fields would they be looking out at with their children.