21. Golden Tree

If Metalunans were anything, they were generous. Many, many years ago the great explorer MetaRaven brought back a single specimen of the mythical Golden Tree. Golden trees were thought to be nothing more than the stuff of wives tales and children’s bedtime stories. Allegedly, they had the power to cure any and all illnesses when taken in the right dose at the right time.

No one really believed such a tree existed until MetaRaven returned triumphantly with the holy grail of all discoveries. He had a Golden Tree, and the legend was true. Every single member of his crew had returned from the uncharted territories despite contracting a multitude of unknown foreign diseases that their own medicines could not cure.

If enough trees had been brought back or if enough could ever be cultivated, illness and disease on Metaluna would have effectively been conquered. MetaRaven, however, was only able to secure one tree and after centuries of effort, only a handful of the trees had been cultivated. Although the trees seemingly lived forever, no one had yet seen one die, they were very slow to grow and almost impossible to reproduce. To date, only the ruling family had access to the few trees in Metaluan possession. They were prized more than power, more than fame, more than wealth.

As the Hynerians boarded Bravo-Four-Zero, they took on board a gift of unimaginable proportions. They had a miniature Golden Tree, and little did they know the Metalunans had, in effect, saved their lives. Without their Golden Tree, not a single Hynerian would have survived the journey to earth. Metalunans knew, and so they gave.