Year of the Writing Wattle

It’s 2050, and hearty shrubs have evolved

The Story Master and Story Mistress couldn’t believe how much had changed in 25 years. Not only was Writing.com still thriving on its 50th Anniversary, September 1, 2050, but its membership base had vastly expanded.

Under the influence of The Overstory, the 2018 Richard Powers novel about the sentience of trees, public interest in the topic had grown. Studies had been funded over the decades, and AI powered large language models soon confirmed not only the sentience of trees, but also their ability to read and write.

The largest Australian Golden Wattle was especially prolific. It had been honored with several medals and awards for its ability to protect Australia from drought and erosion amidst climate change. Meanwhile, its detractors attacked it frequently, blaming it for fires.

The Story Master and Story Mistress, who had benefited from learning the secret of 300-year longevity from oaks, were the first in the world to fund a plant to human foreign language translator.

Using this, Australia’s largest Golden Wattle translated its chemical signals and mycorrhizal networks into English, eventually becoming a daily participant in The Writer’s Cramp.

On the 50th anniversary of Writing.com, 9/1/2050, the Story Master and Story Mistress were sitting with Sophie Gilbey, a conservationist, in Northwest Queensland, and they were gathered around that Golden Wattle, Alice, who was rooted in the middle. They celebrated Wattle Day by coming up with an official rule for exactly how many mycorrhizal network transmissions constitutes 1,000 words.

Written for a daily contest,

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Writer's Cramp wishes WDC Happy 25th!  (13+) Write the best poem or story in 24 hours or less and win 25K GPS during Birthday Week #333655 by Sophy wishes WDC Happy 25th!

Today’s prompt was:
Write a story or a poem that is set on Sept 1 - 2050; exactly 25 years from now. Picture Author Icon and Author Icon celebrating *Wattle Day in Australia somewhere.