Hudson stood in the yard of his mindscape. The low gong-like sound reverberated through the ground, vibrating at frequencies lower than could normally be heard by the human ear.

In front of his house, where a wall of white mist would normally be, there was now a wall of deep blue water. Hudson stared into the depths of the water, wondering what was going to happen next.

“Hello?” He called out, then reached a hand out to touch the surface of the water. It was smooth, and rippled under his touch, but did not pierce the surface of the water.

“What is this?” the voice of the Xith’le’so replied from within the water. “You are no Qi Gathering cultivator. Or are you hiding your cultivation stage?”

Hudson wasn’t sure how to respond, so he decided to be blunt.

“No. I wouldn’t know how to do that. I’ve only been a cultivator for a few months, frankly, and it has been…” Hudson struggled to find an appropriate descriptor. “Not a lot of fun.”

“Cultivation is not fun. It is the furtherance of one’s self to grow beyond the shackles of the Way.”

“That sounds different from what I’ve been told so far. Well, the ‘not fun’ part is the same.”

“If you have been learning the paths of the Disciples, then yes, my path is very different. And so evidently is yours.”

The deep knell sounded again, reverberating through his mindspace. The surface of the wall of water abutting his mindscape vibrated at the sound, and the soil beneath Hudson’s feet also vibrated in response.

“Tell me here,” Xith’le’so said, “with the true voice of your mind, who you are and what path you swim through the waters of the world.”

Hudson sighed in exasperation.

“Well, first of all, I CAN swim, but not very well, so most of my ‘path’ has been walked, not swum,” he began sarcastically.

“My name is Hudson. I’m from a planet we call Earth. I stumbled upon a breathing technique, was kidnapped and forced into one of the Disciple’s trials where I almost died because I didn’t know my place in the pecking order.

“But I got stronger, and decided to keep getting stronger, so that eventually, I have enough power to tell the people that I don’t like to go pound sand. That includes the cultivators that rule my planet, who call themselves S.E.C.T., and their masters, the Disciples.”

There was a moment of silence after Hudson finished, then the sound of laughter. A deep, belly laugh reverberated through the wall of water and into Hudson’s mindspace.

“Well said. Let us speak further, but it need not be here. I have plumbed the depths of your intentions well, and wish to inform my elders.

“I will tell you this: you are no qi cultivator. You are a cultivator of the self, whether you know it or not.”

The wall of water disappeared from the side of his mindspace, and Hudson exited as well.

Back on the platform of the reef vessel, Hudson dropped his grip and stepped backwards. Xith’le’so took off the translation amulet, then jumped off the platform and into the ocean, disappearing quickly beneath the waves.

“You were a little hot under the collar there,” Cor said quietly. Tchae’rii stared daggers at them, strangely hostile. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, it was strange. We spoke in my mindspace. I think… I think it’s good. She doesn’t seem to like the Disciples, but she likes us,” Hudson said.

“Well that’s good news then,” Cor said. “Keep it up, keep it up, but just remember – you ain’t gotta make snap decisions. You got a team here backing you up, you copy? Feel free to call a huddle when you need to.”

“Thanks. I will,” Hudson said. “She also said I was a ‘cultivator of the self,’ whatever that means.”

“Ah,” Cor said, then after a moment, grimaced and walked up to Hudson. He awkwardly put his arm over Hudson’s shoulders, and said, “Well, then, it sucks to be you. But we knew that already.”

Hudson stared at Cor in confusion.

We asked Cor to make physical contact so that we could speak with you, Ix’s voice echoed in his thoughts. We know very little of this heretical path, more commonly called body cultivation, except that the Disciples strongly discourage it. Moreover–

Ix’s voice cut off mid-sentence, as Cor reached his limit of awkward hug time.

Xith’le’so had also returned, shooting out of the water in a long spray of surf before climbing onto the platform. She was accompanied by another figure, who made a more demure entrance.

This figure was clearly older, gray streaking her dark green hair, and walked with an air of authority. She wore the same style of tight-fitting clothes, but had three colorful streamers hanging from her joints – one at the elbow, and two on her knees. She had a translation artifact already secured at her neck.

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“Leave us,” she said, motioning to Tchae’rii and the other workers. Xith’le’so remained, a respectful two steps behind the older woman.

Hudson fidgeted nervously while the workers exited the platform, diving into the water. Tchae’rii gave them a final venomous glare before disappearing beneath the waves. Xith’le’so watched her leave.

“I am Regul’le’so’tchen, the leader of this reef, and Xith’le’so’s master,” the elder said. “She has made an unusual request, and a very rash one: to teach an outsider the ways of our cultivation.

“You have made quite the initial impression.”

Hudson wasn’t sure how to respond. He glanced at Cor, who had a contemplative look on his face.

“I am disinclined to grant her request, but such decisions should not be rushed,” she continued. “Will you accept the hospitality of our reef for the time being?”

Xith’le’so was nodding her head up and down at Hudson, encouraging him to say yes.

“What do you think, Cor?” Hudson asked quietly.

“I always like making new friends,” Cor replied.

Hudson turned to Xith’le’so and her master and nodded. “We would very much appreciate any hospitality you can offer in these difficult times.”

Their interactions so far with the alien people on this planet had struck Hudson as very formal and polite. Xith’le’so had also made it clear that her people were on hard times, as anyone might expect when fighting a war. Back on Earth, it was only polite to offer a gift when accepting someone’s hospitality. The problem was he didn’t have much in the way of anything to give.

“As a token of our appreciation for your hospitality,” Hudson continued, “please accept the skins of the silicates we fought on our way here.”

Cor coughed once into his hand.

“That is, my portion of the skins, which we had previously agreed upon was one-third of the total,” Hudson added awkwardly. “Tchae’rii’s portion was one third, and Cor’s the remaining third.

“If that is acceptable as a gift… I do not know your world or your culture. My apologies if I am being rude.”

The elder flexed her gills and tilted her head slightly. “Thank you for your gift. Your intention is well-received.”

The elder motioned to Xith’le’so and inclined her head toward Hudson and Cor. “I will return to my duties. Will you see them safe aboard the reef before I signal our departure?”

“Of course,” Xith’le’so replied. She gathered Hudson and Cor around her in the center of the platform, while the elder dove into the water, returning below the surface.

“While the elder says you are the guests of our reef, I will give you these items to use,” she said, handing over two translation amulets, and two strange-looking helmets. They were made from a light, metallic material, with pointy tops and circular brims. A transparent mesh hung from the brim, like a bee-keeper’s hat.

“We do not have many of these – they are the Disciples’ technology, used by them and their army – so please take care of them, and return them when you leave the reef.”

There was a lurch, and water began rising on the platform. It was sinking beneath the surface of the ocean.

“I suggest you secure your translation amulets and water-breathing helmets, as well as secure any other loose objects in pockets that could float away under the water’s surface.”

Hudson and Cor quickly strapped the translation amulets around their necks, and pulled the helmets on their heads. The thin mesh that surrounded the helmet closed tight under their chins, forming an air-tight seal. As the water rose up around them, covering their heads, Hudson almost held his breath but forced himself to inhale normally.

There were no issues breathing as he normally did, and under the water, the thin mesh almost disappeared entirely, becoming transparent.

The platform with its bone-spear cage slowly sank beneath the surface of the ocean, until the water around them became darker. The setting sun still shone through the water above them, but it was beginning to grow dim.

As they sank deeper and the sun above disappeared, the water around them began to grow lighter, as if lit from below. Curious, Hudson walked over to the edge of the platform, followed by Cor and Xith’le’so, and looked down.

An enormous, brightly luminescent reef stretched below him. Blues and yellows and reds glowed softly in complex patterns, stretching forward in a narrow band for at least a quarter of a mile. Spurs of white rock, or maybe bones, poked out of the ocean structure at regular intervals.

The platform they were on was attached on the bottom by a rope to the end of the reef, and was slowly being reeled downwards. Flexible bladders beneath the platform were slowly growing larger, filling with water, and adding weight to the platform.

As they grew closer to the reef, Hudson could also see that most of the gaps and holes in the colorful reef were either closed by the same bone-white material as the spurs, or by brown woven cloth, the same texture as the clothes that the people of the reef wore.

“Wow,” Hudson said.

“Is it alive?” Cor asked, not taking his eyes off of the impressive reef.

“Many parts of it, yes,” Xith’le’so said. Her words sounded muted beneath the water, but they could still hear her clearly, and the translation amulets still worked just fine. “But it is not one single living creature. Do you have such things on your world?”

“Like this? No,” Hudson said. “We have many oceans, and beautiful coral reefs, but nothing like this. All of the people live on land.”

“How fast does she go?” Cor asked.

“Fast?” Hudson repeated, puzzled at the question.

“Fast enough,” Xith’le’so said with a grin, and an odd, rippling chuckle that came from her gills. “You’ll see.”

“This whole thing – it moves?” Hudson clarified.

“How else do you think we have survived for so long, at a stalemate with the abominations?” Xith’le’so replied. “Our enemies do not know where to strike us. We move beneath the waves, even into the deep waters, and our reefs – our homes – remain safe and hidden. At least the ones that the Disciples have not commandeered for their own use.”

Xith’le’so said the last part with no rancor, only sadness. The platform gave a small lurch as it was pulled into the reef, settling down.

“Follow me,” she said, swimming easily towards an open hatchway leading into the reef. “I can see your interest in our reef, and will allow a quick tour. It is also my nature to show you the pride of our people.

“Regul’le’so’tchen will go and speak with the other elders, and swim back and forth in the muddy waters of tradition and politics. I will wait on their decision, but I do not need anyone’s permission to begin draining the poison that the Disciples have poured in your ears.”