We found a peculiar organism hatched from an oblong egg. The living conditions it needed we understood from the local environment the egg was found to be incubating in, it was a higher oxygen environment than our own. They also were more gravitationally sensitive. All of which produced a slate of issues when it came to figuring out how to feed it based on the local environment. While it survived, there was a clear malnutrition issue it was suffering from despite our best efforts. A matter made worse as we realized it to be a sapient organism due to its wonky behavior and how it mimicked our speech very rapidly. They seemed to learn language faster than humans learn language, even if they lagged in other fields of learning. We gave the organism the name "Mencel", a human name. We did determine the gender of the organism to biologically be female, but it is hard to know how it interacts with the world regardless. So we went with what we believed to be a gender neutral name in order to avoid unexpected issues. Still, what the organism found interest in with human cultural constructs was unexpected at best. It seemed to enjoy listening to multiple films at the same time without any augmentation. Being able to simultaneously listen to three channels with their attunation and it was hard to pull them away, it needed that constant information flow or it panicked. We didn't want to cause it trauma so we didn't do much to stop this behavior. It got addicted to the media, horrifically so as it was hard to get them to do much else. The various media it liked had no clear pattern, animated media was common. When we talked to them about their habits, we got bombarded with lots of speech from it. The transcript; Xenologist: "Mencel, how are you?" Mencel: "There is numerous beings you expect me to see, all of which happy to see me as your crescent faces are positive faces from the way my mouth is a V shape and your mouth is a line for some reason. Line mouth is what I started to call you I know I'm not you, I'm not an circle mouth either it seems I'm some other smart thing and all the smart line mouths like Stacy and Bullard love to lock themselves together for love reasons. Wonder if I have others like me out there all I have for company are you and the thought streams I keep listening too that are funny because they make so many shifting variations of the goop stock. I wanna be like the line mouth with the talking job, I like talking". Xenologist: "We have limited idea about ... others. We know you're not native. We don't know where you're from in all honesty." Mencel: "I have to be from somewhere, everyone is from somewhere and those documentaries say living things come from planets usually. I think I came from a planet" Xenologist: "we do too. We just don't know which planet" Mencel: "there's a lot of planets" Xenologist: "We have been looking into the archives, suspicions are there is a connection to something more advanced than we thought at first. There was a species we thought... not around anymore. But you being here has us second guessing that now." Mencel: "I am not sure how much that matters I'm used to your company not other wedge mouths like me" Xenologist: "That's not surprising to hear, many organisms at a young age have been observed imprint onto the first beings they see, even those from other planets. It isn't true for everyone but you seem to be somewhat like us when it comes to how you make connections. Or at least see us a "company" instead of as mother or father." Mencel: "I like your company more, just do. All I know is what this place shows me, I want to see more and hear more and sense more than here but I know I am little for now and like a little line mouth you don't let them explore much" Xenologist: "We will consider that want from you, as good company" (edited) [10:12 AM] It was at that point the conversation ended as more debate erupted on how to handle the request the young organism had. There was a fear another trauma incident would occur if it got deprived of information, as had happened on a prior occasion they ripped Mencel from her information streams. Mencel's origin as a species had a breakthrough around the same time. It confirmed a range of fears the researchers had about Mencel. First being that Mencel was indeed an instance of species 52-PV, there was uncertainty due to missing data transcripts in the local sector. These uncertainties got cleared up. The species Mencel was had a range of names, some more ominous than others. The Harmonious Ones, The Prospectors, The "Fosskemians"... not good news at all. Their kind was believed wiped out by the [[custodians|Custodians]] in prior centuries. However it became more evident their civilization is more alive than anticipated. Much more alive. However such knowledge was hidden from Mencel, mainly due to fears they'd see loyalty with that civilization. ---- The lab had a mysterious machine visit them. It was a peculiar, almost cartoonish form. A handle shaped machine appeared at the labs and requested information on our research. We denied it access and it immediately stated that they will attain the research findings we did through other means if necessary. The tech of it was not well understood, but it was hard to determine a connected between Mencel and this machine. It didn't bring Mencel up at all but seemed aware of what kind of research our labs did and seemed offended we weren't just handing it cutting edge knowledge we have done on Xenology. We kept the visitor a secret, even if we knew Mencel would have no idea what they are. They may have been a machine from the Prospectors paying a visit. They didn't do much else other than leave after we rejected its request. As it turned out they placed nanite spies in our faculty, playing nice with us while it did that task. We didn't notice them at first but our sensitive surveillance equipment found tiny temperature anomalies that led to us doing scans that eventually found a loose nanite fog in some parts of the lab. We captured some of these nanites and they went non-functional. Panic ensued. The labs went into lock down, Mencel had to be taken to a noise box for containment due to fear thag a more quiet room would do unfixable psychological harm to it based on what was known of their psychological framework. The lab became oppressive as suited cyborg exterminators got sent in to cleanse the labs of the nanites wherever they may exist, however more just kept getting found. Something was determined to be producing them somewhere in the labs. Heat signature readings came up short. However additional readings done into the less observed parts of the lab found the anomaly. It was some tumorous growth embedded into the shafts. However instead of going to cull it, an attempt was made to observe it and analyze its properties. Using materials within itself, it manipulated its heat signature to blend into the local heat of the place it had planted itself. It was producing the nanites. And than it somehow knew we were watching it, choosing to in that point deflate itself and decompose itself in ways unknown to us, itrapidly rotted itself into a puff of smoke without functional nanites. At that point the handle bar machine returned, almost on cue. It spoke to the xenologist directly when it identified them with the group. Unknown machine: Your hostility to basic data gathering procedures suggests plotting. What is the nature of the experiments at your lab? We have done analysis of your lab and found you are hosting a [[Fosskemian]] juvenile. More importantly we found you were finding information on the 26th dispatch. Xenologist: We caught your spy thing Unknown machine: The one you attempted to analyze yourself. It was a necessary action given how uncooperative your lab has been to my inquiry. Xenologist: Are you here for the fosskemian? Unknown machine: why would you assume that? The 26th dispatch was never meant to return to the core volume. That would defeat the purpose. However we wanted to collect data on how the 26th dispatch turned out. Would seem the hatchery misfired but local sapients managed to still successfully cultivate a fosskemian to the extent needed to keep one alive. [[1_Worlds/02_Plexus Volume/Human]] expansion into these sectors we knew would factor, we expected a less savory outcome. Xenologist: Oh I'm sure you did. Not like your society can judge ours, we have records on the old empires your civ hails from. You might be like some leftover probe of theirs like with the sprawl Unknown Machine: We are no leftovers, Vil. Our civilization expands by the cycle. Harmony will spread just fine. You may have your fosskemian spawn 'Mencel', the data from the interactions is all that concerns me. Xenologist Vil: Wait you mean Unknown Machine: Correct. Mencel is one Fosskemian of trillions out in the galaxy. The Fosskemians never trusted their kind to be stable, so they created seed colonies like the 26th dispatch they sent to remote worlds to preserve and continue their kind's cosmic work. Xenologist: And you are a fosskemian? Unknown Machine: I am one of their creations. The Fosskemians make machines and tinker with them. That is what plenty of them do, anyhow. Xenologist: Mencel showed no interest in machinery, only in the talk shows and media. Unknown Machine: Mencel is one of trillions of possible Fosskemians. Mencel has no ties or obligations to her kind just because she is a Fosskemian. Such entitlement to species from political bodies is nonsensical. That Fosskemian is as much a part of your society as you let it be. Just as a human in prospect space society would be as much a part of it as we allow for. A member of a species has no binding to anyone or anything but their internal nature. Mencel May fear silence like most "normal" Fosskemians and follow the biological patterns of a fosskemian, but that is it. They don't know of the harmonious thought, loyally follow the web of sensory overload or dream of joining a mercenary organization. Their dreams are those your society makes available to them and what they gravitate to most from there. Xenologist Vil: Than why are you here? Unknown Machine: Research, just as you do. We wanted to see how your kind interacted with a dispatch and what methods would be employed. It is a purely voyeuristic affair, we are somewhat disappointed you didn't dissect them or try to psychologically torture them if anything. Xenologist Vil: What Unknown Machine: Aren't humans xenophobic in behavior? Earlier probes we sent to your volume saw your kind mass killing [[Ikirmite]] conscript laborers just for minor acts of defiance. Yet here you're treating this Fosskemian like you would a human child. Xenologist Vil: we are a Different group of humans from them. Unknown Machine: So humans being xenophobic isn't essential after all. That's good to know, I had gambled quite a bit on that trait. (edited) #Galactic-Region/plexus #Fosskemian #dialogue #story #narrative #[[Jama]]