-Oh, I.

-Well, -I had the strangest dream.

-Renee, you were there, -and you were there.

-Braden.

-And you mentored -Glen and Kai and Toto.

-You were there, too.

And.

-Hey.

It's okay, Gene.

-This is it.

-The youngest of the three -sisters.

-It is the now -watch word for beans.

-She manifested -while you were sleeping.

Oh.

-Sorry.

Hello?

It's.

-I'm Gene.

-What happened?

You fainted -when you realized everything I said was true -and that I wasn't suffering -from a head injury.

-Oh.

That's right.

-I'm sorry.

-I didn't believe you, Renee.

-It's totally fine.

-I didn't believe it -at first, either.

-Wait, so, Dotto, -are the baby's herbicide -resistant strains?

-No, there are not strains -in the traditional -sense of the word.

-Bees are not of this -dimension, -so herbicides pose -no direct threat to them.

-But I do believe they -may have begun manifesting -like this due to the threat -such tainted crops posed -to their genetic lineages.

-If the natural cultivars -of this species are replaced -by the corrupted ones.

-Well, who is to say the bees -would still be benevolent?

-Yikes!

-Dude, while you were -taking a nap, -doctor scientist taught us -all kinds of dope stuff -about beans.

-Like, did you know they make -nitroglycerin?

-What?

-Isn't that, like, -a dangerous explosive?

-That's why you get explosive -farts when you eat bees.

-No, no no, no.

-You have misunderstood.

-Beans do not make -nitroglycerin as a legume.

-They fix atmospheric -nitrogen into the soil -from which many other plant -species benefit.

-Wait.

Didn't.

-Why do I always rip -such gnarly ones -when I eat beans, then?

-That is mainly due -to the presence -of a type of sugar -in beans called Rafi nos.

-Oh, because the smell makes -you want to wrap your nose?

-No.

Rafi knows.

-Not wrap your nose.

-Oh, sorry.

-Oh, come on, doctor.

-This thing about genetically -altering crops -in order to make it easier -to kill everything -that isn't that crop.

-Doesn't -that kind of undermine -the healthy -functioning of ecosystems?

-Yeah, very much so.

-And isn't allowing -just one type of organism -to survive for, like, -miles and miles and miles?

-Completely unnatural.

Yes.

-Both of these behaviors -are extremely irresponsible -and problematic and contribute -greatly to biodiversity loss and soil degradation.

-But, doctor, scientists, -didn't the ancient -Mesoamerican -only grow the three sisters?

-Oh heavens no.

-They cultivated a wealth -of different fruits -and vegetables.

-Potatoes, tomatoes, quinoa.

-Chocolate.

Chili peppers.

-The list goes on and on.

-Not only do these originate -in the Americas, -but these were all -being grown -and improved for millennia -before any contact -with Europeans.

-But the three sisters, -they were -and still are a benchmark -of companion planting, -a form of cultivated -mutualism where each species -helps and is in turn helped -by its fellow species.

-And in this way, -the three sisters became -the principal staple -crops of the Americas, able -to support -the massive populations of -myriad civilizations.

Wow.

-All.

How -do you think humans ended up -working against nature -instead of with it?

-You know, I have wondered -the same thing.

-I am not sure, -but I think it may -be the byproduct of -some type of disconnection.

-How do you mean?

-Humans -only adopt new technologies -if they make their lives -easier, more convenient.

-Agriculture replaced -the need to forage.

-Animal husbandry -replace the need to hunt -and electric heat -has even replaced -the need for making fire.

-We teach.

-Advancement -comes the ability -to further insulate -ourselves -from the hazards of nature.

-But just because you can do -something -doesn't always mean -you should.

-In its attempt -to protect itself, humankind -changed its relationship -with the natural world -from collaborative -to combative.

-When did that happen?

-It is still happening.

-The disconnection -is growing.

-So how do we stop it?

-Can we even stop it?

-You know, the three sisters -are called companion plants -because they work together -to benefit one another.

-But they are not only each -other's companions.

-They are ours as well.

-They are our -teachers, our guides.

-That is why I follow them.

-To learn.

-If you know anything -intimately, -you are less likely -to try and harm it.

-Imagine -if we knew the natural world -as intimately -as we know our own parents, -our own siblings, -our children, -our family.

-Then we'd -be connected to it, -and then maybe -we would not be so willing -to destroy it.