"I was brought here out of my will and now I have to do labor work", I muttered while staring at the sun, eyes half-closed. A day had passed since then, and now I was tasked to research the soil composition of this extreme planet.
Digging dirt samples is fun indeed, especially if every so often, you will dig out white worms the size of an arm, wriggling like they've eaten an ample amount of pot brownies. They twist and turn and sometimes try to bite you with their two large fangs. Such an ugly creature.
"Hello there, Gavin. How was your research going so far?", asked a voice that sounds very deep, but has a certain femininity in it.
"Going really, REALLY great, Stryde. Thank you for asking", I scoffed. Holding the white worm at arm's length, away from me. This thing is gross, and I am not just talking about the gigantic worm wriggling on my hand.
He chuckled before saying, "You know that Ataps are just the larva of the largest butterfly, right?" you can see that he is enjoying the show so far. I told you, this thing is indeed gross.
"If the butterfly is small, I would be fascinated by it. But this thing grows into the size of a toddler when it reaches its final stages of development. Who will be fascinated by it?", I answered in a sarcastic tone. A worm the size of an arm that grows into a toddler-sized butterfly, I would be scared to death if I saw one flying on my garden in the middle of the night. I would definitely mistake it for some ancient predator rather than a beautiful butterfly.
He then started his long explanation about these things, like a professor who teaches his student about the greatness of mathematics ( it is most definitely is not). "These butterflies are white in color when they just recently reached their adult stage, Mr. Gavin. Their white color is not just for show, as the season changes, so do their colors. In spring, they become pink. In winter, they become blue. In autumn, they change to orange and in summer they become yellow.", he explained, he then looked at me with a smile.
How can you hate this asshole? Look at that jawline, it's like it has been chiseled by the gods themselves. If not for being the only person who talks to me, I would never even reply to the taunts of this sarcastic old man.
Yes, he is old. He already reached his 300th birthday last year.
He continued, "During the mating season, those four colors are then distributed to each side of its wings. The orange and yellow are on the left-wing, while the pink and the blue are on its right. After the mating season that happens at the end of the year, their wings then turn into black, and when that happens, they only have 2 weeks to live their lives."
I wanted to say, "I already know all of this, old man", but I stopped. The solemn look on his face made me rethink. He stared at the blue sky as if reminiscing his life so far. His green eyes seem to sparkle like a star in the night sky.
After a while, he turned to me and said, "If I were you, I would quickly put that Atap down. Those things are quite venomous", he then quickly turned his back and proceeded to walk away from me.
I thought to myself, "I was starting to admire you, old man. Then you suddenly switch your gears and be an old prick", I grumbled internally.
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Two weeks have passed after that conversation that I had with that old man. Stryde has been busy so he didn't visit me that much in the past few days. I really don't care, to be honest, that old man can go suck... some straws.
I've finally finished my field research with much difficulty, and I found out that the soil composition of this planet is pretty much the same as that on Earth. The only difference is the ample amount of Mika dust scattered across the soil, about 2 percent per kilogram. This gives the plants the ability to send and receive information as well, that is why farmers here have the ability to talk to plants and ask what their needs are.
With talk, I mean sending and receiving information. Plants here are not sentient, they only send data about their desired soil composition, water consumption, temperature, and climate. The same goes for animals.
Animals here are big. With 'big', I mean pretty huge (talk about humongous). The reason why animals here are ginormous is because of gravity. Higher gravity means a bigger physique. The reasoning behind it is still unknown even in the science of the Earth.
The Great Garameta is responsible for the equilibrium of the species on this planet. When a species is becoming scarce, it sends data to all the animals to multiply rapidly to compensate. The same goes if the species become overly populated, it instructs them to self-destruct.
You can say that this planet is like a huge hive mind of interconnected species, and at the head of it, is the Great Garameta deep within the core of this planet.
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Finally, they gave me some time to rest. Two weeks' vacation, they said. As if two weeks are enough for me even though I am working nonstop without any payment.
I told myself that this place is not bad, it is quite nice. The environment is good as there is no pollution around. The people are very accommodating and kind as well. I started to like living here, in all honesty.
I did what I was told because there are many mysteries surrounding this planet and its inhabitants. The science here is very different. No chemistry, physics, or even basic algebra and geometry. I am surprised that they developed as a species in a very different manner than what we have back on Earth.
Still, that did not hinder them from developing, as they have floating vehicles that resembled a gigantic rock which is based on the capability of superconductors to hover with electromagnetism. They said that they were only informed by the Great Garameta to mine specific metals and melt them a certain way, which they then shape into a giant rock-like vehicle that they used today.
Magic is also prominent here. To be totally exact, they called it 'Tolaris Ars' or special arts. It is the use of Kapa and mindpower to manipulate certain elements in space. The more mindpower someone has, the more powerful their Tolaris Ars would be. At this moment, I don't fully grasp the idea behind Tolaris Ars, but I sure am curious as to how it works.
I slowly climbed the stairs to the yellow crystal at the top of the tower to survey the whole area of Hax Geneon. I stared at the entire city at the top of the tower and decided to go downtown to look at some places I've never been to.
"What curious things will I find today?", I asked myself, slowly descending down of the long winding stairs, incredulously.