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"They work very well."

I'm not sure, but I bet it would be hell on my allergies.

Who knows - I don't think it's explained. It's probably just more stylish - wood always is.

If I had to guess though, I'd say that perhaps in the Hegemony, organics and computers have merged, so that you can better engineer quality products with organic materials.

I highly recommend this series and many more great surprises, mysteries and revelations are in store for you.

The first book Hyperion reminded me of a character study of multiple personalities, the 2nd and 3rd go in directions that will surprise you and include great storytelling coupled with imaginiation and creativity that for me set this series apart from most of the pulp sold today.

With the power of love.

Seriously, considering how this series are soft scifi, I don't think you should care about explanations on "magical" things that go unexplained. There's a point where science seems magic, and "soft scifi" relies on that, excusing magical stuff as advanced science.

Sorry for not answering your question, I just don't feel that this is a proper discussion topic on Hyperion, considering it is not related to any plot point (as far as I remember!).

On the other hand, everything related to those Tree Ships, the Templars, and all their lore, is both awe-inducing and inspiring. It's hard for a "modern" space opera to still bring that feeling to the accostumed reader.

Wow, I had forgotten about the tree ships. Thanks for reminding me!

How do the tree ships work? Mostly, handwavium, although that material is expressed in the form of creatures called "ergs," which provide the motive force and the shields that keep the air in.

The technology in all the "Hyperion" books is rarely really explained: it's just there. Makes sense to me; a mainstream novelist doesn't explain how a car works.

In addition to the notion of organics and computers merging, I think Simmons merged organics with "outer space."

I thought of the treeships being similar to blue whales swimming through the ocean. Something so majestic and massive that it almost defies explanation.

I also think of the Templars as more of a guild than a cult (assuming cult has a bad connotation).

Agree with SwampYankee this is not hard SF and to try and figure how the tree ships worked is probably not a productive use of time. They just do. They are simply a plot device.

How does wood survive in the highly radiated zone of outer space ? Im all for new concepts but as a sci fi enthusiast I'd like to know how this works so it became more believable to me.
Not saying that this is not valid, I mean its upto the writer ultimately but I think its a real concern for most sci-fi enthusiasts to wonder about.

I guess on read Fall Of Hyperion I got a little more insight into the tree ships. They are protected by a force field, an erg field...not sure what that is but it's beginning to make sense...
Totally in love with this world though, I think Dan Simmons a genius

This is a great find for me. I have gotten the idea of a tree-ship in my head lately and thanks to your question, I have found some interesting information about the possibilities. The idea has been looked into by Carl Sagan and Freeman Dyson. Trees could someday be engineered to use the minerals and water found in comets to generate fuel and air for a colony of humans. these trees could eventually grow to encircle entire stars creating a tree version of a Dyson sphere or a Dyson Tree if you will. What a wild concept. I may not sleep for a week!

This reminds me of Octavia Butler's "Lilith's Brood" where the ships were living entities that were bio-engineered and mixed with artificial intelligence so they could sense our needs, the walls had skins, they recycled all human and other waste, etc. So it's a complete human habitat, and a living organism and system. I think the model for this might come from the lemon ant colonies, which populate the lemon tree and get all their food and all their needs from it, living in tunnels inside the lemon tree and benefiting the tree by attacking and removing all the surrounding trees that compete for sunlight, so their relationship is fully symbiotic.