For a time, life was good.

S-577 fit right into the tank along with the other blue creatures that were just like him. S-44 introduced him to everyone, always followed closely by the shy S-128.

It was hard trying to remember the numbers of everyone in the tank, so S-577 began to give nicknames to whoever he met. S-44 he called Bubble, because she was the largest of them all, and round like a big bubble. S-128 he called Tiny, for his small size. Then there was Bluey, and Bouncy, and Biggey, and many others. Soon enough, the nicknames began to catch on with everyone else.

“What about you?” Bubble asked one time. “What’s your name?”

“S-577,” he said proudly. He like the sound of numbers in his own name. A longer name meant he was smarter.

“Don’t you want to pick something else?”

“S-577!” he repeated, more insistent. That was his name, and he was going to keep it.

“All right, if you insist,” Bubble said with a chuckle. “You’re a funny one, aren’t you?”

image [https://i.imgur.com/SrBPyWp.jpeg]

At the top of the tank jut out an array of tubes and needles, some sucking in the green fluid they were suspended in, others pumping in different coloured substances that quickly faded into the green. A cluster of particularly large tubes stood off to one side. The feeding tubes.

That day, S-577 watched as feeding rounds began. Everyone would bob nearer to the feeding tubes. One by one, they got sucked up into one, only to return a few moments later bobbing excitedly and full of energy.

It was his turn soon enough. He floated forward, getting caught in the current of the tube. It pulled him in and sucked him through a narrow pipe, plopping him into an extremely small tank where he could barely move. Without any breaks, the feeding needles injected more substance into him, clearing his mind and giving him a refreshing burst of energy. Sometimes, faces would stare at him from the other side of the tank, but not today. Soon, he was sucked back and ejected into the main tank. He swam to meet up with Bubble and Tiny.

“I’m feeling pretty good today,” Bubble said. “Everyone is in a good mood. How are you doing?”

S-577 blinked before speaking. “Doing… good.” He nodded, his confidence rising. “Good!” Despite his mind growing clearer every day, he still found it difficult to string words together, unlike the others who could use more words. Sometimes it took him a while to think up the correct one.

The others never chided him for it. “That’s great!” Bubble laughed.

“I-I’m o-okay…” Tiny said in a very soft voice.

“Great to hear,” Bubble said, giving Tiny a gently nudge of affection. “Did you hear what happened to S-111—I mean, Bluey? Yesterday he got stuck in the tube when he was going to the feeding tank. I think he’s growing too fast! Soon, he’s going to be as big as me.”

They laughed together. “Bluey… Where?” S-577 asked.

“Oh, I just saw him lining up for feeding time,” Bubble said. “Let’s go say hi. He should be back soon.”

They floated through the crowd of the other creatures. There were many, at least fifty. S-577 was surprised he could count that high. He wasn’t able to yesterday, but he found himself able to count higher every day.

“Bluey?” Bubble looked around. “Has anyone seen Bluey?”

“He just got sucked into the tube,” one of the smaller creatures said. Bally, his name was.

The feeding tube opened, and someone tumbled out with an enthusiastic “Wheee!”

Bubble stared. “Bouncy?” The name S-577 had given him. “Where is Bluey?”

“Wheee!” Bouncy said again. “Bluey? I don’t know! Wheee!” He floated away, bouncing against the tank walls.

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“Are you sure Bluey just went in?” Bubble asked.

“Yes!” the smaller creature said. “I swear!”

Tiny huddled behind Bubble. “Not good… not good…”

“It’s going to be okay,” Bubble said. “He’ll be back very soon. He just… got sent to a different feeding tube, is all. Come on, let’s go play Bounce with Bouncy!”

Bubble and Tiny swam away to play. S-577 continued staring at the feeding tubes.

“Tubes good,” he said to himself as the other creatures began to disperse. Feeding time was over, but Bluey had still not returned. “Tubes good…”

He waited until the next feeding session. Bluey did not return.

He waited until the feeding session after that. Bluey still did not return.

He waited while the rest of his friends were sleeping, silently suspended in the tank.

“Tubes… good…?”

Bluey still did not return.

A long while later—S-577 didn’t know exactly how long, but it felt like a long time—another feeding day arrived. He lined up in front of everyone else, eager to be the first to get fed. Bubble and Tiny lined up behind him. Curiously enough, Tiny was still the smallest of them all, despite getting the same amount of food as the rest of them. It seemed that they all grew at the same rate, yet some remained larger than others.

Finally, the tube opened. S-577 swam up to the it, cheered on by Bubble.

Fwip. The tube swallowed him.

He landed in the feeding tank, but this time it was different. It seemed… larger. More spacious. During the previous feeding time, he could barely fit in the tank, a testament to how much he’d grown. But now, he was in a new place.

He looked around. A small speck of fear crept up inside him. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. This was foreign, unfamiliar. He swam around, trying to find out where he was, when the face appeared behind the walls of the tank, staring at him with a large grin.

S-577 backed away, startled.

With a whir and a hiss, a cluster of needles emerged from the rood of the tank and injected the food into S-577. He blinked.

And his senses exploded.

A bright white light enveloped him. He squirmed, gasping as everything became overwhelming for him. The sounds of the tank were too loud. The colour of the liquid was too green. The temperature was unstable, fluctuating on a micro level, yet he could feel every change.

He screamed.

And then it stopped.

S-577 blinked. He was still in the new feeding tank, but he had sunk to the bottom. Slowly, he swam upwards, wiggling his stubby arms as he—

Arms?

“What… this?” He looked down at himself. He was bigger. He felt stronger. His mind felt… clearer.

“WHAT?” Panic overtook him. Part of him wanted to slam against the glass. Another part of him wanted to hide in the tube. The two thoughts clashed at the same time, and he screamed.

The face reappeared, and fear replaced the panic. S-577 backed away, scared.

The face looked at him, then seemed to smile. It disappeared, and something inside the tank clicked. A larger tube appeared, and S-577 was sucked away once more.

The end of the tube led to an empty tank, far bigger than the previous one. It was also empty.

S-577 swam around, searching for his friends. He couldn’t find them.

“No!” He bumped against the glass, then swam in circles, then flipped upside down, his mind running so fast he could barely process his uncountable thoughts. “Where friends? WHERE FRIENDS?”

Another whir, and the tube reappeared. This time, it spit out another creature into the tank, one that looked like his friends in the previous tank, but far larger.

“Wheee!” the creature whizzed across the tank and bumped into the transparent walls.

Wait. Was that…

“Bouncy?”

“Wheee! Oh, hi!” He bumped into the wall again. “It’s you! The new kid! Wheee!”

Why did he look different? S-577 stared, confused. His mind ran in a million different directions, lacking focus. “Where friends?”

“Friends? You mean the others? Dunno! Wheee!”

The tube shook, and someone else plopped into the tank. The newcomer looked exactly like Bouncy: larger, with more substance to their body.

“What happened?”

He knew that voice. As soon as he heard it, his mind focused on it, calming him down. “Bubble?”

Bubble looked around, and her eyes lit up upon seeing 577. “There you are! I was so worried when you didn’t come back through the tube!”

“Where others?” S-577 asked. “You bigger.”

Bubble twitched. “I know. We grew. Evolved. Isn’t it exciting? Though…” She looked around at the tank, empty except for Bouncy bouncing around aimlessly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

The tube shot someone else into the tank. Another one of the previous tank’s occupants. One by one, the tank filled up. S-577 recognized all of them, and they greeted him with enthusiastic voices. Curiously enough, it didn’t seem like everyone had moved here. There were far less of them than in the first tank. He counted—much faster than he could before—at least thirty-three.

“Where Tiny?” S-577 asked.

Bubble froze, then looked around. She swam all over the tank, approaching the others. “Tiny. Have you seen him? Anyone?”

She began to panic, shaking as she swam. “No… He can’t be gone… Where is he?” She looked up at the tubes. “Where is he?” she repeated, louder.

Her form started to glow with a silvery outline, but before anything could happen, the tube shook once more. A smaller individual shot into the tank, colliding with Bubble. “Ow!”

“Tiny!” Bubble drew him close. “I thought you were gone!”

“They kept me in the tube…” Even though Tiny had changed like the rest of them, he was still smaller than the others by nearly half. His quiet voice was still recognizable. “It was for a long time. I was so scared…”

“You’re okay.” Bubble nudged Tiny gently.

Something tugged at S-577, and he floated closer, hugging Tiny as well. “Friend,” he said. “You friend. We all friends.”

Tiny didn’t say anything, but he closed his eyes and huddle closer. His shaking lessened as he relaxed.

“Best friends,” S-577 said.