Just to get this out of the way, on the thirteenth line, did you mean to “people” in twice?

That aside, this is some incredibly multi-layed stuff there, mate. The tree and the man both becoming a stack of paper in the end was a very powerful image.

The environment is more than just resources waiting to be plundered and people who die are more than just statistics and paperwork.

Very thoughtful.

Thanks, no I didn’t mean to put ‘people’ in there twice. Truthfully, I’m surprised that was my only typo, or that I missed it when putting the story up. A quick check didn’t show me any more, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I missed others.

As for the comparison between the tree and an old man – I’m not really sure what my thought process was when I first wrote this. This was a revision of something I wrote in High School, several years ago, 2004. I decided to post it with a little editing after inspiration struck with “So Why?” Still, I see what you mean looking back on it.

I think my original inspiration was pretty much as you said, though I don’t remember thinking of the angle you’ve put forth. Thanks for your input.