Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
"If there was ever a fellow THE TALKATIVE ready for this planet," decided "you're it, Sonny! Hang on there while I signal the Life by root!" All TREE about him was natural, caused damage to the stellar drive and the way the small planet's murky atmosphere defied precision scanners—the tree," he muttered. "If Yrtok snapped out of it and heard, I'm as good as re-personalized right now." As he brooded upon the Peter Kolin had to admit that casualties might have been "Don't know what got into things out, the tree spoke. "Maybe you're all set, Sonny. The Life has been thinkin' of learning about other worlds. If you can think of a safe form to jet off in, you might make yourself a deal. How'd you like to stay here?" Peace State You could be a bird, a tree, "Since the crew will be on the damage," announced the emergency watches repairing the dream on for size. He considered what form as is suitable. It may be useful to discover temporary still be tough enough to live a long time without renewal. Another factor slipped into his musings: mere hope of escape was unsatisfying after the outburst that had defined foods." that never fights is bad not just get away but get even for the way they make us live … the whole damn set-up. They could just as easy make peace with the Earth colonies. Earth, but many of the home world's less kindly techniques of any other idea. The complete loyalty to the state was likely to result in a siege "They're scared that without suitably "re-personalized." of treatment that left the subject have to live and who's running wherein mere unenthusiastic had been employed. Lack of posture had betrayed State. Then the gravy train would get blown up—and I mean blown up!" of three persons each," one person in to report, and "I could tell the Life your he will be replaced by one of the five I shall keep here to issue rations." no matter how far away. Maybe you could make a deal to kill two birds with one stone, as they used to say on Earth…." viewpoint.) The maintenance of a proper viewpoint was a necessity if the Planetary State were to survive the hostile plots of Earth and the latter's decadent colonies. That, at least, was the official line. small packets of emergency rations. The line of crewmen released temporarily from repair work was transient as to individuals but immutable as to length. Slichow muttered something profane about disregard Since the crew would be eating that the keepers of of favoring themselves in regard to food. They maintained a standard expression would have revealed it to be passed. Along the edges, the haze faded raggedly into thin formed a cohesive body. They drifted together, approaching staggering flunkies, stealing a few seconds of relaxation on the pretext of dumping an their way, its elongated leaves shimmering with bronze-green reflections against a armful of light plastic packing, momentarily before descending. Kolin shared their sense of the valley at a brisk pace, becoming Unit One." Throughout the cloud of spores, the mind formerly known as Peter Kolin congratulated itself upon its choice of form. Nearer to the original shape of the Life than Ashlew got , he thought. a somber, brooding grayness. state of the tree named Ashlew, half immortal but rooted to one spot, unable to float on a breeze or through space itself in a world bounded by the He paused to consider the on the pressure of light. into the control center of another form of life, as a second spore was taking charge of insinuate any part of itself plentiful, interspersed with scrubby thickets of tangled, "Be a job to find anything Finally, after a longer hike than he had anticipated, they Peace State and the return to Haurtoz passed like weeks to some of the crew but like brief moments in infinity to other units. At last, the ship parted the air above Headquarters "Looks as tough to get through as a tropical jungle," he remarked. "I think the stuff puts out regarded the trees with "Could hardly be better, through." In two or three minutes, "Maybe we can find a way "Hardly, sir. All ready for the liberation of Haurtoz." "Reformation of the Planetary State," mused the captain, smiling dreamily as he grasped the handrail. "And then—formation of the Planetary Mind!" END by the wide spread of the edge," decided Yrtok. might most easily escape the " relaxed. "He must have tasted some!" exclaimed Kolin. "I'll The they had involuntarily drawn back to "It's time to end this scout," he told himself. "It's dangerous. One good look and I'm jetting off! What I need is He considered the massive giant. Soaring thirty or forty dwarfing other growth, it seemed the most promising choice. clinging to the rugged trunk to climb. Planetary State of Haurtoz "Oh, well, I can take it when I come down, if she hasn't snapped out of her spell by then. Funny … I wonder if had been organized some fifteen When he reached the first thick limbs, twice head height, he felt safer. Later, at what he hoped was light-years from old open the top is," he mused. "I wonder how the view will be from up there?" "Depends on what you're of twigs and leaves, which You know why they don't?" "Who The answering sigh of laughter gave him a distinct chill despite its suggestion of amiability. "Name's Johnny Ashlew. Kolin had heard of instances told himself in a reasonable tone. "It's bad enough that the other two passed out without me going space happy too." intentions to harbor Earth tree." surface. since I came here and found out I could be anything I wanted." "What do you mean, anything a vertical vine. "Just Chief Slichow said. "Every the voice, sounding of the tree trunk. "And, if age." "Your age? How old—?" "Can't really count it in Earth years any more. Lost a tree was a nice, peaceful life and when I remembered how long some of them live, that settled it. Sonny, this world ain't all it looks like." in an effort to see what the "Nope. Most everything here is run by the Life—that is, by the thing that first thinking, and set its roots control. That's the outskirts "The other trees? That jungle?" "It's more'n a jungle, Sonny. with the others from the Arcturan Spark , the planet get some rest, but assumed a hanging on grimly. "Doggone vine!" commented mildly willing look. (Too eager the Life got in touch with his mind and set up a mental field to help him change form. He looks twice as good as a vine!" a foothold. much, even with the Life's way of thinking. It burns me. I thought of being to take advantage of it!" to stretch tiring muscles. "Maybe I'd better stay a him. "You ought to let me tell you how the Life helps you change form. You don't have to be a tree." " the outside anyway. Most of them have to change as the bodies wear out, which I don't, and some made bad mistakes tryin' to be things that, Mr. Ashlew." "There's just one thing. The Life don't like taking believes in peace and quiet. You might not get back to your ship in any form that out. "I wasn't so much enjoying being what I was that getting back matters to me!" "Don't like your home planet, whatever the name was?" "Haurtoz. It's a rotten place. A Planetary State! You have to think and even look the way that's standard thirty dream treason and they'd find out somehow." just to live." Suddenly, Kolin found himself telling the tree about life the Planetary State's planned expansion. He dwelt upon the desperation of having no imagine. Somehow, the oddity of more relaxed he felt.

<question>:
What does "the Life" best represent?

<options>:
A Freedom to live authentically
B Escapism and abandonment of responsibility
C Temptation and deviation from shared goals
D Immortality and a return to wholeness

<answer>:

A