Back in my immobile, blind, and deaf state as an ear of corn, I decided to cultivate some kernels via my fellow corn plants for the rest of the afternoon. What was once an unfamiliar sensation now felt therapeutic as I let my mind go still and focused on absorbing the energy of every living thing around me. I had a greater understanding now over how this thing worked, and it was quite simple: the more kernels I cultivate, the stronger I gradually become and presumably, the more abilities I seemed to unlock. I didn't have a plan regarding how I was going to proceed in this new world, so I decided to take it day by day.
Hours into meditating, I detected stronger sources of energy walking through the cornfield. As if I were inhaling a fresh-poured bubbling pot of ramen, I hungrily took in the mass of kernels that I detected, their source no doubt being a more complex animal or more humans. Wanting to investigate, I searched for another insect to take control of, not yet confident enough to try and take control of whatever was producing all that energy. I ended finding a smaller but notable kernel signature compared to the corn stalks. Latching onto it, I looked up at the sky through the tiny compound eyes of an aphid, moving up the comparatively giant corn plant.
Directing the little bug skywards, I made it peer over the top of the stalk to give me a view of what was going on. Several of the corn plants shifted as a group of people shuffled between the neatly-packed rows, where they quickly picked the ears of brightly-ripened yellow corn and tossed them into burlap sacks that they dragged along with them. Farmers, apparently, and they were neatly-harvesting the golden vegetables. A chill ran down my kernelled form. Was I next?
"Hurry up, fellas, I want at least half the field done by tonight," the farmer from earlier barked as he assisted his hands in harvesting. "No telling when that lunatic on the crow will come back. These government soldier types aren't above property damage."
One of the farmhands began whisking away the corn in my direction, and my yellow husk, distinguishable by my huge energy signature in comparison to the other corn plants, was right in his path. Should I try to defend myself as I did with Lysander? I reminded myself that these farmers were merely doing their job and harvesting the corn—which unfortunately would have to include me.
Not sure how to avoid being shucked away, my aphid POV helplessly looked on as the man eventually reached my stalk and with a flick of his wrist, slung me into the bag. Some of my kernels must have been ejected into him, as his arm trembled shortly after letting go of my vegetable body.
"What the hell?" the farmhand groaned as he held up his shuddering limb, before shrugging it off as it subsided and continuing on picking.
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Off he went, lugging along a bag of me and my corn brethren. I wondered where it'd all be going. A barn? Animal feed? Farmer's market? As a wingless aphid, I wasn't going to be able to tail the farmhand for long, but luckily I detected a mosquito looking to make a meal out of him. Now releasing my link to the aphid, I blindly felt for the blood-sucking insect and connected myself to that instead. I was treated to the bizarre POV of the mosquito in the middle of sucking blood from the farmer's exposed forearm, where I was able to take off just in time to avoid his swatting hand.
Taking to the skies, I trailed the farmhand for what must have been hours, watching as they harvested sacks and sacks of corn. I was able to differentiate the bag that I was in due to my kernel signature, so I simple landed the mosquito on a rickety wooden wagon sitting on the road that the sacks were eventually carried off to and piled on. A lone mule then pulled the full wagon deeper into town, and I hitched a ride as the farmer bid farewell to his hands.
Encouraging his donkey to pick up the pace so that he could hit market before it got too late, the grizzled man steered us towards a row of stone and straw buildings that were loosely clumped together, presumably the small town's "core". Set up along the streets were various wooden stalls that were selling a variety of produce and homemade goods like shortening or jam. People were dressed in the same old fashioned attire that I'd observed earlier, and the little community resembled a quaint European village. The town' residents also looked like the Caucasian people from my world, mostly white Europeans but there some people in the mix with notably-darker skin.
Parking his wagon along the end of the street, the farmer pulled out a wooden sign and leaned it up against the spoked wheels. He then opened up one of the sacks and allowed his golden-kernelled produce to be on full display. Flying the mosquito above, I got a look at the sign. "200 fletchings per bag" it touted, the apparent local currency. There was also an option to pay 5 fletchlings for a single ear.
Landing again on the wagon, keeping a close eye on the sack that contained my body, I wondered what to do next. In the meantime, people eventually came over to the farmer, interested in what he had for sale.
"Dang, Vincent, I wasn't expecting to see your corn on sale this early," an old man whistled as he squeezed one of the bags. "You use a new fertilizer or something?"
"Naw, one of those government mages was about to burn down my field earlier while he was chasing some guy through it," the farmer replied with a shake of his head. "I decided to just head to market immediately and sell what I could from the field before anything else happens."
"Well shoot, I'm not complaining, your fields always produce the best corn in Red Sprout," the man continued as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a handful of copper coins. "I'll take a bag."
Thanking him, the farmer named Vincent handed the geezer a bag of corn and he was sent on his way. Wondering if being bought was my best option, I realized I'd lucked out when I spotted a pair of individuals that I wouldn't mind being purchased by.
"Well hello, who do we have here?" I thought to myself upon spotting a duo of gorgeous young women, the male part of my brain seemingly reactivating after all this time.