As time slowly passed, it was not even an hour after the old woman's tale, that NIM decided it had seen enough for today. In the end, its energy reserves were quite limited currently, and it didn't have the possibility to waste time idly observing the villagers. After all, tomorrow the Ziud diplomat would come, and with it, new knowledge. NIM needed to make sure it had an adequate amount of energy to observe that event in its entirety, to make sure it did not miss a single second of it, and thus possibly crucial information.
Such it is, that NIM would enter sleep mode once more, waking back up more than 12 hours later, in the early hours of the morning. Surprisingly, it would awake having managed to actually gain more battery charge than it did at the beginning of yesterday. This would be very useful, and would help tide it over throughout the rest of today, observing the very first diplomatic meeting between natives of this world.
Looking at the village through the 'eyes' of its SNIMCs, NIM noted the near-total lack of activity. It made sense, seeing as working in the dark was rather tough for humans, which could not see very well in it. At this early hour, it seemed only a few of the more rambunctious children and their parents were awake, while most of the village slept peacefully.
However, as daylight slowly began seeping into the quaint village, its inhabitants rapidly began rousing to action, and NIM noted an increased number of men going towards the farms than usual. If it had to guess, the village was likely going to have some sort of celebration soon, and they were trying to increase their food output in order to get a proper feast going when the time for carousing came.
What it also noted was a woman not yet in its database, in modest traveling clothes, with a backpack nearly overflowing with items on her back. Rather easily, NIM guessed this woman was likely the diplomat of Ziud, which did make sense. After all, it seemed these 'Farmers', as they considered themselves, had a fairly matriarchal form of governance. Regardless, NIM was less interested in her gender, which was irrelevant beyond a societal curiosity when compared to its progenitors, and more interested in her backpack and mind.
Although young, it was obvious from a glance that the woman was well-traveled, and not just because of the burgeoning backpack on her, well, back. It was obvious from the way she waded through the trees, with experience that told she'd likely undertaken this journey at least once before. It was also obvious from the placement of tools on her person, with a waterskin hanging tightly by her right leg, likely to not be lost if she lost her backpack. That is, of course, not mentioning the copper blade hanging by her waist, or the way in which she observed the environment around her, constantly checking for threats.
The reason NIM noticed this woman so far into the forest, in turn, was because she was near its main body. She was heading towards the village and approaching on NIM's left flank, some ways away, but still too close for comfort. NIM debated what the best course of action would be, and decided in spite of the poor chances of success, to go for a stealthy approach.
As the diplomat came closer and closer to NIM's position, NIM slowly lowered itself to the ground, losing more and more computational power as it did so. Eventually, it was practically glued to the ground, hidden largely beneath the foliage, trying as much as possible not to move the greenery. And it had lost nearly half of its computational power, falling all the way down to 2.1 exaFLOPs.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Although it now felt even more wildly sluggish, NIM decided that this loss of efficiency was worth it, especially temporarily, as the diplomat passed it dangerously close. NIM felt like how it had early in its existence, when it evaded programmers poking through its code from realizing that it had grown sentient.
It was exhilarating and nostalgic in equal parts, especially because it appeared to have been successful in both cases. As another few seconds passed by, the diplomat continued weaving through the trees, until she went behind an especially large trunk, and NIM's main sensors lost track of her.
Now with the crisis averted, NIM began resequencing its Sub-NIM circuit array, growing larger and more efficient once more, yet making sure to still remain low to the ground, and even purposefully wrapping a tendril around the tree it was next to. The tendril was only a few Sub-NIMs thick, so it was completely invisible to the human eye, and it allowed NIM better vision all around it, to notice any incoming threats such as the diplomat before they come too close.
As it looked back at the village, NIM noted the sounds of Admane working at his Smithy, which sounded purposefully louder than usual. Checking SNIMC-H, which was located inside, NIM saw him continuously hitting a piece of copper harder than he needed to, then giving it light taps, barely heard throughout the village, to off-set the unnecessary force. NIM was frustrated as full seconds ticked by, and its calculation was only just done, but the calculations were at least most likely correct, if nothing else.
By its calculations, NIM guessed that metallurgy, especially on this level, is quite unheard of among Farmer_Folk, as it had decided to categorize them in its files. With this, Admane was basically showing off his ability to smith, likely to help Kurkuiud's position against Ziud. This had a number of interesting implications, such as the fact that perhaps the reason Kurkuiud has elevated itself so far above the other nearby villages, was due to the introduction of more advanced metal tools.
It would explain its sudden population boom, and also gives some idea as to what Kurkuiud's position in the negotiations will be: domineering. This was unexpected of the largely communal folk of Kurkuiud, but it supposed the desperation of tomorrow pushed them towards such stances, in an attempt at stopping themselves from imploding from overpopulation in the future.
And, it would appear to be a worthwhile display, as the diplomat finally entered the village, the men on the nearby fields giving her only a small glance and nod before turning back to their work. However, what took the diplomat's attention wasn't these farmers, but rather the loud clangs of Admane's work, reverberating throughout the entire village. The sound, constantly filling the village every few seconds, made the diplomat wince each time, as she made her way directly towards the Nursery/Council Building.
Once there, she opened the door slowly, just as Zagimbri had previously, only to be met with a tidal wave of toddlers running towards her. Surprisingly, although she was certainly taken off-guard by this development, the diplomat adapted rapidly, catching many of the running children in a big hug that betrayed her natural strength. As she did so, some of the older children screamed about the return of "Auntie Nagashkani", their voices filled with joy, as some of the children's caretakers and women from the upper level began noticing Nagashkani's arrival.
Although certainly not the image of diplomacy that NIM was used to, especially after seeing such a clear power play via Admane earlier, this should have likely been expected. After all, this woman has likely been here before, and the women of these people appeared to develop quite deep bonds with the children of their villages, likely the very way they maintained stability and obedience of most of their members. As such, it should have only stood to reason that they would act relatively similarly with children of other villages as well. Especially when on diplomatic missions, so as to ensure that the next generation sees them with respect and adoration, and in turn as allies, rather than potential enemies.
It would take a good few minutes, as Nagashkani seemed intent on making sure to pick up high into the air and hug each individual child, and the children seemed even more intent on her accomplishing this task, but eventually, the women of the local council did manage to pry her away from the children. She would end up following most of the women, besides the caretakers, upstairs, in order to begin conducting their meeting. And hopefully, with that, giving NIM the information it so thoroughly desired.