Part 1: A puddle is fishing potatoes?

Second chances. The opportunity to redo an activity. That’s what I thought when I repeated the same plowing process. However, this time it was fast enough that when I saw a small part of the tuber, I moved my flagellum and pierced it.

Yes, I went for a direct hit.

Anyways, its grip on the earth was stronger than I imagined. Maybe the wet sand and the water pressure made it harder for me to win. However, the potato fishing game soon came to an end. Its attempts at moving became weaker over time although it seemed to have an unending vitality as it twirled its roots nonstop.

I don’t know how I did it or if this would work again. Nonetheless, the hexagon stuck onto the tuber without letting it escape through the earth. I lifted the pierced round plant upwards until it was uncovered completely. All of its body was recovered except for some fluids that stained the earth where it was pulled out.

I quickly sliced the weird and still squirming ball with my flagellum, detaching the body smoothly and easily. The slippery thing had a sturdy surface with a slimy cover that liquefied once it was sliced. The interior was shiny and glowed with starry blinking lights. It was denser than the exterior, yet it retained a squishy feeling, like some kind of gelatin. Finally, with a few rounds of squirming, it ceased its activity completely.

Killing a potato, huh?

I never would’ve expected that killing something didn’t feel wrong.

If I had to describe the feeling, it felt normal. Was it like cutting a vegetable? Hm, for some subconscious reason, I knew this thought was necessary for my survival. Nonetheless, it didn’t incur a pitiful feeling or sensation of doing something bad. Maybe I’m...really not human.

Setting my thoughts to the side, I observed how A18 stored the fragments while the system expanded and internalized the whole specimen.

My puddle, the process has been completed.~

Good girl, now we can go back and see what this thing is supposed to be.

Upon returning, I delved on the previous events, especially what these plants were supposed to be. The conclusion of it was a certain probability of them being children or sexual partners for the blobs.

Strange creatures... They even had some sort of language, huh?

The signal they produced was like a way to show they existed, but it probably needed a specified distance from the blobs to attract their attention. I haven't grasped how it worked, but it must be some sort of communication that required water. Maybe smell or some chemicals like pheromones as I previously thought.

Even with all of that into account, I didn't have the ability to check upon unique compounds. The AI's scan only worked to show the elemental composition. Molecules seemed to require me knowing about them.

As many things will remain unresolved without experience, I knew what I had to do. Turn an eye on things that didn't matter at the moment and gaze at the present. If something needed to be discovered, it wouldn't be done in a short period. Things like theories required testing. Even with that, you might be wrong in your conclusions. Being patient was a necessary trait for survival and hunting. 

The priority right now was to remain 'alive'. At least, I alone... Could say I am. 

Therefore, my experiments were designed to identify the best path for survival. The planning was done in a conservative way since I couldn’t take risks when the world around me remained cloudy. The unknown things, the unknown reasons, those are better solved with patience.

In my conceptualization, the only big problem was knowing that parts or fragments of the project could be scattered around the place. I needed them as they would give me a huge chunk of resources, yet they were a gamble I couldn’t take.

The most probable place for collection of them was the cave and I knew those balls of syrup would be lurking inside the murky maze. They might not find me if I sneak there, but I wouldn’t be saying the truth by stating I wasn’t scared. I didn’t want to meet with those disgusting blobs again.

Those things are bigger, faster and stronger than me. They might even have better music in their cavern. The only viable way to win is in a one on one fight. And this is with a terrain advantage, which is not something that would present as an opportunity again, except if it was intended.

My puddle please adjust the course of direction or we will collide against the dunes below.~

Ah, sorry. Thanks for the warning.

I adjusted my swimming and sent those thoughts behind my mind. I will probably crash if I don't stop thinking like this. But who can I talk to? Who would hear my wishes, regrets, and emotions in such a place?

Seems that no one would stop thinking easily...

And thus, a new one appeared. A thought which made me want to make A18 deliver more human-like responses. I really liked having a companion for this weird afterlife. Even if she didn’t talk a lot, I noticed that she was learning gradually and providing better sounding phrases.

It was good to think that. It was also nice I didn't meet any new obstacle while in deep thoughts...

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Part 2: Adding specimens to the database.

Landing at the mat went without additional trouble, outside of my inner thinking of course. I just couldn't stop discerning about these weird situations I am in. But I just took everything as a normal occurrence since I still believed myself a human.

A18, before digesting, I’ll need to check up on each part of this specimen. Please take it out for me to see it.

Yes, my puddle!~

When the system released the seized exemplar, I started to evaluate its parts. From the glowy leaves to the gas-containing balloons. From the stems all the way down to the rhizomes. All of them were essentially indistinguishable from the dark counterparts, except for the already known glow. It made me delve if there was a difference in color, however, it wasn’t something I could discern at this moment.

My tail flowed in the currents, my flagellum oscillating in non-human yet dexterous maneuvers that would appear psychedelic if captured on a slow-motion video. The more you mixed coffee with sugar in life, the more adroit you’d become at it. I was an expert in whirling my… Never mind, I said nothing.

As I progressed in the dissecting, I expressed the results and asked A18 to save them on the world’s database I was creating. If there was no wiki in this world, I'll make my own G00pedia. What can I say, I'm ambitious.

A18, save each of the following experiments under the ‘glowing plants’ folder, each should be a new subfolder categorized as parts. Inside of them, please add the respective description, the dissection’s video recording, and the composition result after digestion.

Yes, my puddle!~

Leaves: They are rounder and appear to be less flat, with some extensions or protrusions that are sticky. Almost like those vents that octopus have. For some reason, little hairs in its borders squirmed like filaments and emitted a pulsed glow. The leaves also seem to have an internal cavity where part of the compressed gas from the 'gas-ball' is filtered or expulsed. Similar to a piece of pita bread, with two layers and air in its interior. There is also a sticky liquid that creates smaller cavities in between, preventing the two layers from separating. Composition: C, O, H, N…

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Creating a new entry in the 'Glowing plant' folder...

Added result ‘Leaves’ to the database.~

Roots: Their exterior is sturdy but the interior has a grey-silver liquid that shines with an intensity similar to our heat source. The noted difference with the dark counterpart, the roots of glowy plants are bulkier and softer on the inside with tube-like structures to transport said liquids. Composition: C, O, H, N…

Creating a new entry in the 'Glowing plant' folder...

Added result ‘Roots’ to the database.~

Stems: Nothing different except for the liquid inside within channels or flaps that allow it to be somehow pumped. Composition: C, O, H, N…

Creating a new entry in the 'Glowing plant' folder...

Added results ‘Stems’ to the database.~

…

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Part 3: Vegetable or Something different?

Finally, leaving the best for last, the result of the most important parts of the glowy plant entered my eyes. The tuber and something extra that I found which resembled a fruit.

There wasn’t much to say in addition to the tuber, only that it had a soft interior as compared to the opaque counterpart. The interesting came in its inside. Because there, between a butter-like interior, were 3 small irregular stones. They were solid and I couldn’t slice them or drill them. I did a hot cut but the results didn’t change, leaving only thin indentations on their surface. The three stones were incredibly small and were attached to each other by thin filaments of the same material, which I was able to cut after making the AI remember its shape. The creature having something akin to a triangular structure made me think of something.

A18, is there a similarity with these weird things and the cores of my project?

My puddle, the data about the cores in project G00 is unavailable except for the data presented before. Materials, exact composition, resistance, and real appearance are unknown.~

Can’t you like, pull it out for us to see near the vision sensor?

The project indicates that the cores shouldn’t be tweaked or the project may enter suspension.~

Okay, but what if I design an X-ray scanner or a microscope, can’t we try to see the cores with those?

My puddle, the core structure is to be isolated from all factors. The data of composition is u4n03wn…~

Composition… u4n03wn… skipping broken sectors…reformulating answer...

The core might be destroyed upon contact with external factors, it is unstable without adequate protection. The core can't be examined or it might self-destruct.~

Wait! What did you just say?!

My puddle, the data is damaged, but it is explicitly stated to beware of core manipulation. It may be destroyed by little amounts of external exposure.~

No way! Are you saying that I’m a bomb?!

Self-destruction doesn't imply that the cores are explosive.~

I wasn’t asking you when I mentioned that!

My puddle, you asked. ~

I… didn’t...

Recovering my worn-out self and returning to the experimental process, I finished the dissection and then asked A18 to digest the diverse elements of the tuber. The results this time were more varied than those of the opaque plants, which for some reason, didn’t have these metallic structures inside.

The composition for the external layer was actually made of organic matter with low carbon content, suggesting some organic material that was sturdy. The interior, the butter-like material, was probably some fat tissue like the brain. It was organic containing the basic trio C-N-O, yet it had important quantities of phosphorus and zinc.

Disregarding the advanced chemical part, the AI was able to digest the hard structures that I assumed were similar to a core. However, the results were: unknown.

Unknown, a word I am hating more and more.

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Part 4: They also have a core?

A18, is it unknown to you or to me?

Data is not available in the current database. Not possible to translate appropriately.~

Oh great! The AI is more knowledgeable than me.

So basically the AI knows what the compound is but she can’t find the perfect words because I never interacted nor learned of it?

I am seriously gaining some brain damage from these weird conversations in different languages. Well, at least we can somehow understand each other.

So... Is it metal?

Its composition appears to be similar to the user’s cataloged metal-based elements.

Hm, then it's a metal that I don't know.

Forget it. I can ask more about it, but without the name, it's impossible to determine it. It’s like playing with mud and I don’t want to waste time playing a cold-warm-hot clue game. It's not worth my 'valuable' time.

The periodic table in my memories had most things of the first elements, but those rare ones in the periodic table where even averted by my eyes unconsciously when studying the books. It was obvious I wouldn't remember most things even if the AI showed me some videos, some places would remain blurry, like deleting an actor you didn't care in a famous movie.

Additionally, who knows if maybe some alien element existed in this new world? I shouldn't gaze at everything with modern human eyes when inside an alien context. I should start thinking of adapting to this place efficiently, the more I survive the more I can know. I don't even know how much time can I remain alive, but the AI can prevent decay which means I can live long enough if I have the tools.

Yeah! Even more important than knowing which elements composed the digested samples, the uses of said samples is what determines their real value. The more micromachines I have, the more I can live and the more I can have a satisfying life.

A18, how many micromachines can we make after digesting this tuber?

My puddle we can make around two complete micromachines.

Yes! This is a golden potato! It means these things are 20 times more valuable than the dark plants. Was it because of the ‘nucleus’ or ‘core’ material inside these things?

Also, this wasn’t the biggest plant there. If we go by size comparison, this one was in the smallest range with others that outgrew it by 5 times the size. In summary, the bigger ones could give me 10 MMs, which is even better!

Well, that’s supposing the larger the plant the bigger the tuber.

Nanomachines are too little to count, there are too many of those. It's like humans and proteins, just counting the cells gives you something around thirty trillion. A number I quite liked, because it reminded me of the huge complexity of life. Another thing needed for a living was energy, and if these things provided resources, energy was one I couldn't omit.

A18, did energy increase after the digestion of the tuber?

My puddle there was a small fluctuation towards higher values but nothing measurable.

Hm, there probably was an increase in energy but it still isn’t enough for the heat sensor to check on it.

A18, what do I need for the heat sensor to show a more objective value?

My puddle, the heat sensor needs the definition of the heat scale.

Ok, impossible then. Defining a heat scale can’t be done right now without the required comparatives. For some reason, it seemed simple but my mind didn't get the needed input for solving that.

My chatting bot and I were drifting fools in the unknown aquatic farmland. Like lost tourists in these macabre fields, we didn’t even know directions nor the right time.

Having those thoughts in mind I went for the last piece of the puzzle. It was something transported in my 1st sphere (mouth). The thing inside was released while other things were being digested, yet it always gathered my attention. Its form was like a flower, yet it wasn’t thin and appeared more like a blob.

Yes, it probably was a Poke-poke’s baby. A weird world this was for an animal to become a plant and then produce a flower-like egg that became a tentacle monster.

The dissection didn’t take too much time, there were some fluids inside of the baby monster in the form of a flower. It also contained some gaseous substances and there were 3 small rocks swimming inside of a semi-spherical structure in the middle of the ‘flower’.

Seems the development of blobs had various maturity steps. The creature was already sliced by me when I retrieved them, yet when it had contact with the mat’s light its fluidly exterior squirmed as if burning. I stared as I took the baby blob towards the mat’s center where the light was at its maximum. The squirming became more violent as the syrupy exterior solidified like burnt plastic.

This…

I gazed at the corner where I once had other ‘samples’. Yeah, all samples were ‘eaten’ but there were ‘crumbles’ left behind by my dissection. And yes, all of the plant's fluid solidified as if burning slowly over the mat.