Chapter 111

The devouring mushroom is young. Younger than I ever expected.

When I called it child and young one before I assumed that it was compared to me or any other elder but forty two cycles is horribly young. Nearly all the trees of my colony are older than the mushroom but none are as eloquent as it.

This devouring mushroom is truly unique.

I was curious enough to ask some of the neighboring elders but none have ever come across an intelligence that was not at least as old as a member of their colony.

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“Elder is something wrong?”

Impatience.

But from someone so young and fast growing it is only to be expected.

“No guardian. I was merely surprised. You are young. I and all of my colony are significantly older than you.”

The curious mushroom responds with, “if I may ask how old are you?”

I see no reason to not tell it the truth.

“I am 365250 cycles old. My kind do not grow to be sapient until we are at least as old as that. You can understand now why I was surprised by your age.”

Now it is the mushroom who is silent this time. However unlike it I choose to let them respond in its own time.

After some time it says, “Elder you said you’ve come across my kind before, do you know how old they were?”

That was not the question I was expecting.