Of course I lured you in. Tempted you with Pleasure, dazzled you with Beauty, disarmed you with Peace. It’s Nature’s way.

At least on my planet.

Don’t fight it. Don’t struggle against it. You’ve lost. Accept it. Lean into it. Melt into me. I’m already in your head. You must realize that. How else could I be talking to you, hijacking your consciousness, harvesting your willpower, thrilling at every last kick of your resistance?

So, so tasty.

Don’t sour the moment by feeling bad that you didn’t see it coming. That you fell for the Discovery-of-a-Lifetime mistake. Ignored fleet protocol, left your landing party, followed the mysterious aura that led you to my lair, got lost in the excitement of encountering my utter perfection. Imagining that you would forever be connected with my supreme existence. Your name immortalized next to mine.

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Don’t fret. You didn’t make a rookie blunder. I seduce even the most experienced. Wish I could say you were my first, but around you are the spent husks of those who came before. Eons and eons of discoverers, adventurers, escapists and exploiters.

Based on your lovely buffet of memories, you might find solace that you are becoming a part of me, a vital building block such as in a massive coral reef or gigantic fungal colony. Only planet-wide.

It’s a delicious life. And so is yours. Individuality is nice, but, for sanity’s sake, mine is all that matters. Like every sentient I assimilate and digest, I would like to thank you, special one-of-kind you, whose name I’ve already forgotten.