Chapter 8B: A world of her own
It was now day four. More than halfway through her trial, Alex has developed a keen sense of vigilance. Every small movement or noise would startle her, but most of the time it was just a false positive. Very quickly, she realized that she was unarmed. The one thing that had helped man propel itself up the food chains were tools. Whether it be tools for killing or tools for survival, the mechanisms created by man played an important role in their everyday life.
The trap that Alex made was a tool, the stick that she used to kill the snake was a tool, and the fishing rod she used to catch fish was a tool.
After all, there’s a reason why humans developed opposable thumbs. It makes the use of tools easier. To defend herself, Alex needed a weapon, something that isn’t single use and can last her for the remaining few days.
Her choices were limited to what she could make. Everything will be very primitive, from rocks to sticks. At best, she could fashion a bow, but without any knowledge of how to use it, it would just be a useless piece of wood and string. If the snake had been venomous, she could have made a poisonous dart. But it was a boa constrictor. It had strong body muscles and very elastic skin.
Alex spent nearly the entire morning brainstorming ideas. Ironically, the clouds above started to gather as well. There was a high chance that it will rain again in the afternoon.
With the rain, comes the inevitable sense of fear. The fear spawned from the lack of her only method of defending herself currently, the fire. Alex quickly began looking around for food, so she could hunker down at her makeshift camp. Putting the thought of weaponry in the back of her mind, she set forth towards the lake.
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Several hundred miles away, through the vastness of space, was Seed ship Beta. A severed head stared out the window towards the tiny egg in the distance.
“So close, yet so far.” He sighed.
“Worried?” The female android sitting next to him asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You really do consider that child your own huh?”
“Just go back to your paperwork.” He glared at the android.
The android sighed.
“Gadget, there is no use denying it. Sooner or later, people will realize you have an attachment. A single weakness that they can exploit.”
“I know.”
“You can’t protect her forever, at best you can only distance her from you or wait for her to become strong enough to brave the storm herself.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t know. You can’t pretend you know everything just because you are a genius at tinkering!” The android shouted as she slammed the documents on the table. “You have to understand this, Gadget! Stop it with your narcissism, it’s harming you.”
“I-I know.”
The android calmed down and sighed once again.
“I swear, if I knew how much of a hassle you would be, I wouldn’t have saved your sorry ass.”
“Thanks by the way.”
“No problem.”
“What do I owe you?”
“Oh please, I always owe you enough favors. Gadget, this one time at best can cancel out the sum of all the other favors I owe you.”
“…Fine.” The old man knew there was no use arguing with her.
“You…” The android stopped before she finished her sentence.
“Yes. I really do.”
“Fine, fine, you stubborn bastard,” The android sighed. “Let me finish up my term here on this seed ship, and we can go back to Gaia together.”
“Thanks, Melody.”
“You now owe me one, Gadget.”
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“Yes, I do.”
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Meanwhile, in the virtual world, Alex gathered the half dozen small fish she caught and left back for camp. The clouds overhead were now a menacing dark grey. Flashes of light pulsated within the dark fluff. A thunderstorm was brewing.
“Shit, this will be annoying.” Alex cursed under her breath. It was her way of coping with her fears. Better to use anger than to be paralyzed from it. Something that the old man taught her long ago when she felt the fear of death creeping up on her. After all, anger sparks action while fear causes stagnancy. It was only recently that she remembered the lesson from the old man.
By the time Alex reached her temporary shelter, the first raindrop had already fallen. It began lightly, just a gentle kiss of liquid on the parched earth. Within mere moments, it became a torrential downpour. The water hammered the world with a vendetta. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed, the sky in its full anger battered the ground. Alex could only huddle in her hammock and hope for the best. The water levels started to rise. Soon, it became the level of what it was when she first discovered this small patch of land. But it didn’t end there.
“Shit.” Alex cursed as she saw the water was still rising. Perhaps even her shelter will soon be submerged. The rain this time was a lot stronger than before. If she were to be trapped in the currents this time, her death would be certain.
Realizing that all her efforts were wasted, Alex climbed higher up the tree in anger.
“Dammit!” She yelled out at the sky.
The cold set in fast. Even if she could cover the area above her with a roof, it didn’t do much in preventing her from getting soaked. With the winds blowing at such intensity, it almost seemed like it was raining sideways.
The bitter cold started to set in. Wind chill played a big role when her entire body was soaked to the bone. It didn’t help that she was climbing higher up where the winds are strong and were not mitigated by the surrounding trees.
First, the environment tried to kill her, then the animals, and now once again the environment returned with a power-up. Alex could only curse at her own luck.
Suddenly, the thought of giving up sparked in her mind. It was just a trial, a test that doesn’t necessarily mean permanent death upon failure. But the thought of being left behind by her friends pushed that image out quickly.
She had been alone long enough. Even if she had the old man before, she never had people around her age to socialize with. This was her only salvation in the desert known as introversion, an oasis in her loneliness.
With some determination gathering in her body, Alex hunkered down near the top of the canopy. The mangrove tree she was on was a good distance from the ground. It grew strong and wide over the years. She should be safe from the tides up here. Thankfully, this time she had prepared a little instead of being totally caught off guard. She had with her the fish, and a few tools needed for survival. Worst case scenario, she could eat the fish raw. She had a sharpened rock she could use as a makeshift knife to cut. Along with a long loop of vines to be used as rope, she felt more secure than before.
Taking a leaf from the tree, Alex gathered a mouthful of water from the rain. It was cold and had an earthy taste. The smell that assaulted her nose came from the waters below. Everything just smelled wet.
Lying still up in the mangrove trees, Alex prayed to whatever deity of luck that existed out there that thunder would not hit her tree.
Perhaps mercy finally smiled upon her as several hours went by and she remained safe. Cold and wet, but safe nonetheless.
Alex yelled at the sky until she grew tired. With the rope vine, she secured herself to the tree and began to doze off. The sound of rain and thunder became nothing but white noise as she got a brief moment of rest.
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Meanwhile, her friend Nell was not faring as well as she was. Nell hid between a small crack in the ground. The walls rubbed against her sore skin causing her to blood a little. But there was nothing she could do. This was the best hiding spot she could find on such short notice. The giant creature loomed above, constantly sniffing with its giant nostrils. Its giant fangs protruded from its lower jaw like a mighty mountain. It was obviously a carnivorous creature as spots of red dried fur lined its mouth. Nell shivered in fear as the creature passed overhead. The shivering just caused more chafing though. Thankfully, her blood didn’t give away her location.
Nell’s world was a rocky area full of giant creatures that towered buildings. They were all apex predators who will eat just about any living creature it sees. She was lucky enough to have avoided detection and survived for four days on carrion alone. Thankfully, the creatures leave a lot of leftovers after every hunt. Drinking the blood and eating the flesh, Nell had survived four days so far. But her luck was running thin. The creatures were becoming aware of her existence. If they actually put effort into tracking her, she won’t last even an hour.
She could only pray to the deities above for luck.
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At the same time, Kurt finally made it to lush jungle at the edge of the volcano. The black volcanic dirt made for the perfect soil for plant life to thrive. He was met with fruit trees as far as the eyes could see. But such a bounty did not remain unprotected. The forest was full of monkeys. Chimps as far as the eyes could see. Kurt remained vigilant as he entered their territory. They seemed aggressive to any foreign invaders, but thankfully Kurt left immediately after grabbing some fruit. They didn’t give chase but remained wary. It will become harder and harder to nab the fruit with each visit. Kurt could only sigh and pray to the gods.
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Ruri found a cave. It provided much-needed shelter from the snow. But within the cave was the previous resident. A large hibernating bear. Thankfully, it was still asleep when Ruri walked in. But any loud movement will awake it from its slumber. Ruri needed to kill the beast. Its fur and meat will provide for him for the rest of the week. If he succeeds, it will guarantee his survival. If he failed, it would most certainly be his end. He prayed to the gods that he will succeed as he began to formulate a plan of attack.
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All these kids in harsh environments. Left at the mercy of nature and luck, they could only pray. Sadly, the gods are not watching as they do not exist. Even though, the ever watchful eye of Mother looked down at each and every moment of their struggle. She did nothing. Favoritism was not her standard protocol. Breaking it would not benefit her. After all, she too was made by MOTHER, the original program.