The Forest of Metal

Be ware, ye, who would step into that unnatural forest. Not a soul breathes, not a wind stirs the air. Yet the trees move, and grow, though not a drop of sap flows through their veins.
~Old folklore concerning the Forest of Metal

It takes a courageous man to step into those woods these days- My old man, he swears that he planted a sword at the edge of the woods when the Last expedition left twenty years ago- Yet when the boys came back last week, the sword was almost twenty meters in! I mean.... It's not like metal trees can grow. Can they?
~Calgary Bethoman

Geography

The Forest of Metal, according to the Mechanicals painstakingly recovered from the depths of the forest and Observation Station Deka-Seko, Was a small reserve along the southern coastline of the Western Continent. However, it now covers the entirety of the Southern peninsula, an expanse magnitudes larger than its orginal hundred-mile-square acerage. Mountains have vanished under the trees of metal, entire ecosystems edged out over time as the forest, left unchecked by its creators, expanded. Records indicate that, at a point that is now ten miles deep into the forest, there used to be a mountain. However, recent expeditions into the forest indicate that the elevation of the site is more appropriate to a small hill. Historians have endeavored to track the expansion of the forest. Rather, they have found with alarming speed that any historical site that may have once resided in the southern peninsula has vanished utterly. Castles crumbled to dust and War fields brushed smooth. Even the Treads of the Wyrld-walkers hold no say, their marks covered by artifical roots and expansive canopies. There has been a race to reclaim what little remains of cultures of any sort before the forest wipes it away. Remarkably, water still flows through the forest unhindered. Riverbeds have remained remarkably intact and untouched, making them ideal for traversing the forest unscathed.

Ecosystem Cycles

I've scanned every book, tome, scroll and tablet I can get my hands on- They all agree on one thing, though none speak of it directly - _{There's no weather in that forest.} The seasons don't change. The sun doesn't even seem to set- It's like time stops when you enter that place.
~An excitable Historian

Multiple expeditions into the Forest of Metal have reported a sudden increase or decrease in temperature, depending on the time of year. The climate within the forest is consistently controlled to an illogical degree, although by what has yet to be discovered. Snow does not reach the forest floor, nor do the coastal winds brush anything more than the outermost branches. The result is a nerve-wracking, eerie calm as the forest sits in the sound of its own ecosystem. That is to say, silence.

Localized Phenomena

Objective: Identify Location Location: Digital Forest, Coordinates 45.21N 36.67W Observation: Current Location was not part of the Digital Forest at last activation. Last Activation: 730,945.83 days. Observation: Oh No.
~Diagnostics log, from a Mechanical recovered in the heart of the Forest of Metal

The Forest of Metal is remarkable in the fact, that, despite no evidence that the trees themselves have any sort of life cycle or means of reproduction, it is capable of expanding itself. The Mechanicals that have been excavated from the forest indicate that the Forest was a much smaller grove, yet has now expanded to cover hundreds of miles and is still growing. The Machinicks of Ruben estimate that the rate is variable to within one meter a year, depending on the availability of resources and other global phenomenon. No one is sure how the forest is growing or, more importantly, how to get it to stop.

History

The Forest of Metal is thousands of years old-not by the reckoning of its explorers, but by the Mechanicals who have been retrieved from the depths. After re-alinging their internal dictionaries to the modern tongue, they explained that the forest had been designed by their creators. However, the story as to why seemed to differ between Mechanicals. Being mere tools, they had explained, they were not expected to know or care about the grand design of the project, only implement it. A recent discovery of a data-log entrusted to a Mechanical seems to spread some light on the subject; or it would if the subject made any sense to the modern scientist. A transcript of the log has been transcribed and archived for future use.

Chief Ranger's Log, Day 83 Our work is progressing quite well, considering the setbacks. We have planted a new grove at the edge of the cliffs, just off the coast. Chief Duggers wants the work completed by the end of the summer, but the men are insistent that this will proceed until the end of the year. Considering they are paid by the day, this is not surprising. We've had the bots scanning the trees for abnormalities as they plant. We chose a mild area to start with, to have a 'control' group of trees that need to do little to terraform the land. Once we have satisfactory results from these we'll more to more inhospitable areas, such as mountain tops or the poles. If these are to terraform entire planets, first we must be sure they can terraform an acre. Day 84 I looked over the schematics again this morning, comparing them to the most recent results from the bots. I had to isolate a tree that had developed a virus; its programming did not know when to stop growing or spreading its roots, and had sprouted another two trunks before someone caught it. Thankfully it had not yet attached to the main grove. I brought the development up with the technical team, but they only nodded and said that it was working 'within parameters'. I know these things are meant to grow and turn inhospitable wastelands into habitable farmland, but they surely have to stop somewhere! I had to assure myself three times over lunch that I hadn't lost the deactivation key. I shudder to think what would become of the forest if we lost the kill switch.

Alternative Name(s)

The Digital Forest

Type

Forest

Vehicles Present