What's Inside The Forbidden Pentagon?

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·Nov 10, 2024

This is the Forbidden Pentagon. It is illegal to enter this 3 square mile area of forest in Northern California because somewhere inside, Hyperion grows the tallest living thing on Earth. Hyperion's exact location is officially kept secret to protect it, but unofficially it can be found with a Google search. So people visit it.

Its shallow roots and base have been damaged by their steps, and the surrounding area no longer has ferns due to trampling. There are no plans to build a protective boardwalk providing access to Hyperion because redwoods frequently lose their tops due to wind or lightning. So it might not be the tallest tree for long, and that makes Hyperion a true lional creature—a beast on the boundaries, too impressive to ignore, too fleeting to enshrine.

And so we leave it alone, as we should. Tallest tree? Who cares? It's a tree, and that's what matters. How can any of us feel insignificant compared to the vastness of the stars when we live amongst silent monsters that eat their nuclear reactions for breakfast and then feed us?

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What's Inside The Forbidden Pentagon?

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