No living thing on Earth or on any other planet wishes to die. If it were not so, the thing and all of its kind would become extinct in a flash.

Every living thing develops some sort of a defense against annihilation whether it be poison, camouflage, razor sharp claws or the bulk of an elephant. Even trees have primitive defense mechanisms. What if in future, we encounter a tree that is actually able to defend itself?Along the star-way of infinity is an endless array of astral bodies. In the near future some will be settled for humankind's salvation and some for its pleasure.
(Recent Review of The Ladder Trees: "Man versus nature and man versus himself. The play on the indifference of nature and the indifference of human nature, juxtaposed with anthropomorphism to illuminate defense and survival is brilliant."