Act 1: Where, who, what, why?
I opened my eyes, and saw that I was not on my soft bed, in my cabin, aboard Hellsinger but in starry space, without a suit. . . "Agk! noooo!! I'm so young!" I started crying lamenting about my failed mission, of bedding and taking in more lovers than my country's hero before the age of 25.
"Calm down boy." I was hearing voices now! this is bad, I'm only terrestrially enhanced! I'm not a void born kid! I need to find the wreck, or pod, the Hellsinger must be close! I only have 5 minutes! "You have more time than that boy, please calm down, you're not in the void. . .It's more like a simulation." I breathed out and in and then looked at my flailing arms and saw they weren't freezing by the cold of the vacuum nor being roasted by radiation.
I looked around unlike before, now my eyes where cleared of panic, And able to see that I was in the presence of a leviathan, a Domain of living things that has evolved to live in the void of space, subsisting on the gasses of giants, the radiation of stars, or the dust of nebulas. . . We had only discovered three such species of this Space life, and been researching them for centuries! none were intelligent enough to communicate with us. . . until now.
"Yes, I'm what humanity used to call a leviathan, but you're not human yourself anymore aren't you?" I, My thoughts blanked as I think, about. . . No! I'm human I. . . Just. "Yes you died, It's been a long time actually" I was confused. "Where is this?" The large cosmic beast smiled at me. His large whale-like mouth showed me bristles made of pure dark-gold.
"We are at the wellspring of souls." He said as the lights of the galaxy moved faster than it should ever be. "We are not in space, but within the Immaterial sea, the world that records each galaxy and keeps it within its folds. And this fold is called the wellspring of souls." I realized it as true, as I saw my body not physically, but of light, and others moving from one realm to another, sometimes staying in the world they died in, but more commonly moving on to another.
"Who are you?" I asked, hoping to know why such a being like him, took an interest in me. A human star research-officer of the 25th century of the human federation of stars, I was nothing special, even in the constellation class ship I was serving. "Simple because I am you, and you're a small part of me." The answer confused me, but it did not as he changed.
He changed from the whale like leviathan into the form of my father, but different. "Is that me?" He smiled showing metallic teeth, below a scared red lips. "Yes boy, this was how old we were when we died. 239 years old, died protecting a new generation of gene-children." I can't believe it. "I died saving kids? Were they mine? Did I finally settle? Become an old pioneer captain! That's not how I. . ."
My head spin thinking how my fate could have landed me living that long, dying for such a cause. . .I mean, I would save kids, heck I would have helped anyone that asked, but dying to do so? I never thought I could actually become that brave. "You did, and you can still be." I don't understand. "Then what am I doing here? If I'm supposed to become you, why am I?"
I remembered a class about temporal anomalies and time bullshit. "You're trying to change my future! Something happened in the future, you want me to change it!" I started laughing, finally understanding why a godlike version of myself took me from my soft bed.
"Wrong." He said, smiling like my father, and crossing his fingers. "There's nothing to change, I have lived a full life, multiple ones actually." He said as he became different people, some aliens, some animals, some humans and others were truly monstrous until he stopped and became once again a leviathan.
"I did not cut a piece of myself just to change my past." He said hearing his voice made me see glimpses of the lifetimes of lives he had lived, and of the foolishness of my answer, I have somehow become wiser, but not at the same time. "Then why?" He breathed on with gasses that combusted into blue flames. "Because I wanted to see, if a past version of me, can change a world for the better."
And with that the blue flames blinded me of him, I wanted to ask more questions but I knew I would not have them, atleast for now. Those where my last thoughts as the light consumed my senses utterly.
Act 2: Sky-fall.
My headache, as I opened my eyes and saw the blue, white clouded skies of a class-A planet, I looked around me and saw I was on a hill shaded by a tree, I was naked with nothing covering my pale, micro haired skin. I was the same as I breathed in, and out feeling the flow of my blood, the twitch of my muscles, the touch of my senses, as I felt the soft cooling winds on my skin.
I'm still the same, that was my thoughts as I heard whispers. "Oh? Who is this? He's new. I hope he doesn't eat plants. Hopefully he eats the insect eating my leaves. Maybe. . ." I heard light whispers in the winds, I sat back down, and saw a small bed of the same flower, one of its leaves laid a grasshopper, nibbling on the flowers leaves.
I pinched it and then flicked it away, it flew off. "Jerk!" I heard it whisper in the winds. "How's that flower? Better?" I asked as I sat in front the bed of flowers. I know it's stupid, but I felt this was the right move, in this alien but similar world, naked, alone, after meeting a godly version of myself, I think I should trust my instincts for now, and logic when needed.
"Thank you strange one! Here's a gift!" The flowers started dancing and then I smelled a sweet scent from them, and it coated my body, losing my natural scent of meat. "You're welcome." I smiled atleast for now I shouldn't worry about predators. "Curious. Wow! Yes, this one is odd." I looked around and finally was able to realize those that spoke were the oak-like tree shading me, the knee long grass I was sitting on and white mushrooms on the tree's base.
"Hello? Why would it be odd?" I asked the large white mushroom, as her voice was the last one I heard, she sounded pretty young, weirdly she reminded me of an emo girl I dated. I felt a condescending sigh. "Because meat things shouldn't be able to speak to us! You're weird!" The tree moved one of her smaller branches tapping the large mushroom.
"Play nice mushrooms, this one helped little flowers" The voice was almost motherly as the oak-like try spoke. "Now young one, why did you fall from the sky?" I was confused, as I did know I fell from the sky. she seemed to have understood my confusion as she explained. "One moment I was sunbathing and the next I was catching a meat thing, falling from the sky, it wasn't my first time, but usually a mother would have come and taken you."
"Huh. . . wow, that is a lot. . . wait you catch birds when they fall?" I asked as my thoughts ran, thinking on how my godly self literally threw me into a new world, and I barely survived because of a helpful sentient tree. "Well birds and other meat things, but usually another meat thing would claim them, and give me a gift for saving the fallen ones." Ahh. . . a learned behavior, how smart are these aliens?
"What gift do you want for saving me?" I asked the tree, as her leaves swayed in the winds. "Nothing from you, young one, but something from your mother." Huh, is that a hard rule? Can't I pay for it myself? Usually I would be happy with a tree breaking my fall when I was free-diving but now the tree was sentient, shouldn't I repay her for saving my life?
I thought of anything I could do or give, as I looked around and then I saw she had fruits, small red raspberry like fruits. "I don't think my mother would come, how about I eat your fruits and spread your seeds?" I hope she takes this as a favor rather than a threat. "Oh! Yes, that would be a good gift, but it's sad that we wouldn't be able to hear stories from your mother."
The tree moved her fruit-filled branch closer to the ground so I may reach it. I picked only the very rippen ones. After I took a handful of the large raspberries, I ate one and it was sweet and sour, very much like a strawberry. After eating the handful I collected and removed their thumb size seeds in the middle.
"Where do you want me to seed your kids?" I felt the tree looked at me oddly. "Well, I usually don't get asked that, but can you seed them on other hills like this one?" I was expecting her to want me to plant them somewhere closer, maybe just a few meters from her. "You don't want me to plant me on this hill?"
I looked beyond the hill, and saw a grassy, hilly terrain, maybe a river to my south a few miles away but it was far away, a forest in the north, and nothing but green and hills in the other directions. Nothing artificial like roads or towers. "Why would I want my kids to be close? I'm still too young to become a forest, I want them to enjoy some freedom before we eventually connect again."
I was confused but nodded, planning to plant her kids on the hills before I reached the river, as they say just follow the river and you'll find civilization. "Alright, I'll do so Fruit-tree, as your gift. I'm going now, see you plants later." I felt her nod as the flowers sang as I picked up a stick and walked away. "Good riddance! Hope you die out there meat thing!" the mushroom said as I heard another movement of branches.
I was halfway up the hill when I heard her. "So where are you going?" I was confused and looked down at the grass. I felt her presence, that moments ago I did not. Is this how sentient grass works? Being only able to interact with one thing at a time. "I'm going towards the river and look for the dominant sentient. . ." I stopped in my tracks as I thought about it.
If even plants are this sentient, what about the animals? That grasshopper thing called me a jerk. I kept walking hoping that my conclusion was that human like civilization wouldn't exist in a world like this. "Tell me grass, have you seen or heard of a meat thing like me before?" I felt her think and then felt the equivalent of shrug from the blades of grass I was stepping on.
"Maybe? I heard from Elder Forest that he has hairy meat things that stand upright living inside him, but that's all I know, I'm not sure if they're the same as you." I nodded, and it seems she understood. I didn't feel cold even naked, the sun was shining but the air, the climate felt like I was in European spring. Maybe 10 or 15 celsius, based on how my micro-hairs were moving.
I should atleast feel called not warm, as if wearing a turtleneck, slacks, socks and shoes. My leviathan self told me he would give me a gift, wondering if it's just making me more adaptable. I stopped walking as I stood atop an empty hill, with a stick and started digging a small hole and planted a seed. "Oh? Never seen a meat thing seed like that." I was curious. "They don't dig?"
"No, some do but many just. . ." Yes most animals in this world still do in fact do it the old fashion way, I thought it would be more magical cause my other self told me this world would be magical but wow, sentient communicating animals naturally seeding the seeds of sentient trees. After I planted all five of the seeds around the hill with one in the middle.
As I walked I felt that the grass was still with me. "Are you following me?" I asked the grass that felt surprised that I noticed her. "Well you're more interesting than listening to the other meat things." So they could understand animals, but animals can't understand them. "Are there ones near me? Animals?" I asked her. "Animals? Is that what you meat things call each other? Yes there are other animals near you."
"Yes it is, much like how we call you plants, except the mushroom she's Fungai." She seemed excited to learn what I said to her. "Good, good, okay want me to lead you to the other animals?" I nodded as I felt her slowly moving towards a direction and I followed and then she started moving faster making me run, I stopped as I smelled the animals, they stink but covered their scent with the moist ground.
I started creeping towards them, as they seem to be just over a small hill. With my belly on the ground I creeped towards them and looked over them from a small vantage point, what greeted me was large hares like animals. Long ears, cute triangular noses and cotton like tails. They were sniffing the air. "Why did you stop?" The grass asked.
"Well if I was any closer they would have run away scared, or tried eating me." I answered the grass. She seemed to laugh at my answer and seemed to have gone away. Weird, I looked back towards the hares and they're gone. "Where did they go?" Then I sensed movement behind me and Immediately jumped away.
As I turned, I held my stick with both hands, as a kind of club and what greeted me surprised me, Bipedal women, covered in fur, with long rabbit-like ears, eyes, and legs, their arms were human like but with a coat of fur, and blunt claws. "Who?" I asked confusedly then black, I felt my head struck and everything turning dark.
Act 3: Rabbit folks.
I felt warmth, smelled freshly cut grass and earth, and touched soft fur, I tasted the foulness of blood on my mouth, and then I opened my eyes, I saw it was dark, and that I was sandwich between large rabbits, reaching my chest in height and much much larger than I was in diameter and weight as I felt them softly squeeze me in there sleeping pile. Are they like the pets of those rabbit like aliens?
I gently slipped past them using a trick by relaxing my body, I became much more flexible and moved past them. "Well, atleast doing yoga with Alyssa was worth more than me taping her in tights." I whispered to myself as I wandered out of the small cave, it was dark outside the sun already set, the virgin sky was out showing the wonders of the galaxy.
An uncountable number of stars that host a terraformable planet in every 10,000 ten thousand stars, a livable planet in every 100,000 one hundred and thousand and an A-class planet much like earth in every few million. . . The stars distracted me as shadows from my back appeared as I felt their steps upon the earth, and saw their shadows from the bright moon.
I stepped away with a kick, I saw them again, three aliens with a lot of rabbit features. And then I felt the fourth one as I jumped to my side, this time not distracted by their humanlike form. I looked back and saw it was another one holding a stick, they were all holding sticks. And I lost mine.
They were fast, and probably stronger than me. If I was a base human I would have died getting hit on the head like that. . .but If I was a Gene-prime, even a terrestrial variant I would have already beaten them on the ground by now, but no I only have terrestrial colonial-enhancements, just enough genetic enhancement to survive and develop a harsh Type-C planet.
I wish I had atleast my stun baton. "Hairless youth, go back to the den, not safe outside in the dark." Huh? They can speak! "You can speak! Why attack. . ." Before I could continue I was sneak attacked by another one moving at my blind spot. She gagged my mouth with her stick and another held my arms, and then I was dragged by two of them into the small cave.
I was crying and screaming as I tried to say I'm peaceful but they did not listen. And after a moment I calmed down, my breath normal, and my genetically modified hormones kicking in reversing the bad side-effects of adrenaline making me think clearer. They're not eating me or killing me but they've gagged and held me here why? I remember one of the rabbit alien's words.
Dangerous at night. . .Does she mean predators? "Are you calm now?" one of the rabbit aliens whispered to me, I nodded and it seems she understood as the gag in my mouth was taken off, and the hands holding my arms let go. "Why did you attack me and not kill me?" I whispered to them terrified that these strong aliens were scared of something stronger.
"Mistake, thought you a meat eater." The one behind me whispered, the cave was very small making us only inches from each other, as we all were sitting down, and I was in the middle of them. "What changed your mind?" Where are the large rabbits? Did they move them deeper? I thought, as looking deeper in the cave was impossible even with the weak light of the moon.
"Mouth smelled of fruits not meat, and you did not try eating us as we slept." were they in that fur pile I woke up in? I'm sure it was the giant rabbits. I nodded to the answer, so is that why they drag me back here because I thought I would die outside? "Is the night dangerous?" I asked them, their long ears twitched. "Very, needed to make sure you don't die because of us."
"Thank you." I said to them, and they yawned. "Back to sleep, talk more when the light is back." I was unsure, but I agreed I wouldn't risk it. As I relaxed sitting on the dried grass floor, I saw them turning into the large mastiff size rabbits. I was shocked silent as I watched them glowing weakly as they shapeshifted, are they like the werewolves of fantasy? . . .My leviathan self didn't lie that this world was magical, that was my last thought as I fell asleep tired.