Remora

Though it did look like a nice home to be trapped in, she had to admit. A blue-green carpet of grass covered the floor, interspersed by the feet of furniture. Everything looked hand carved, but the occasional leaf implied the wood was somehow still living; Maybe it was both. A small kitchen lined the wall to her left, with a living room on her right and a circular table between them. Three doors led away from the common space, and between them the walls were covered by plants and bookshelves. It almost passed for a well-to-do terran apartment, but that was where the similarities ended. The kitchen counter was nearly featureless, missing everything but a sink basin. Next to the counter sat a box like the one Myconia had pulled the steak from, and on top of that, there was a strange glass box. Even the table and chairs in the center of the room felt uncanny; just like the vet, the whole room was scaled up to accommodate the giant alien it was truly built for.

On her other side, while containing a couch, coffee table, and television, the living room was anything but normal. The red suns of the Gliese system greeted her as she surveyed the hab, as the recessed living room’s far wall was a massive window into the void. By this point, she knew it was a camera from some stationary part of the ship projected to look like a window, but that didn’t stop a worry about the window’s structural integrity from trickling into her mind. The home was so alien, but at the same time so familiar, It reminded her of an archived sci-fi horror show that was so ancient it was in black and white.

“Welcome to my bumble a la mode!” Myconia exclaimed with a wide gesture, stepping in behind Madii and letting the door shut behind Itself. “I know it’s not much, but I think it will be comfortable enough while you stay with me.”

“That’s definitely not how.. Hhuhh...” Madii let out a sigh as the door slid shut, and her body visibly slackened. She felt suddenly very relaxed now that she was alone with the alien, and her thoughts immediately jumped on the emotion. Was she already letting herself become this comfortable around her captor? No, this always happened, she had to remind herself. Normal people don’t melt down the moment they get home from school, sweetheart. The sweet tone of her mother’s voice said in place of Madii’s own thoughts. She was right, of course, Madii always hated how hard being in public was. 

She suddenly looked up at Myconia, realizing she'd once again fallen into her mind in front of the alien. Stars, now was not the time to be thinking about her moms.

“Wow, your home is beautiful.” She finally got herself to say, stepping further into the room and looking out the window.

“I get to come home to this view every day, sometimes I change it up though.” Myconia said, slithering after Madii. It hadn’t realized, but just as soon as the little terran’s shoulders dropped, so too had Its vines slackened beneath the waist. “Sometimes I change its location on the ship, sometimes it's a naturescape, sometimes porn.” Myconia giggled at the glance Madii gave It. “I’ve lived in this hab since I first germinated, I’ve done a big chunk of my research here too!”

Madii stopped and looked at Myconia over her shoulder, a half-smile already creeping up her face as she spoke. “You’ve published your own research? Can I see it?”

Myconia’s smile grew right alongside Madii’s. Stars, those teeth were sharp. “Of course!!” It slithered over to one of the bookshelves and pulled a huge tome off the top shelf. Well, it was like a tome for Madii, it fit Myconia’s hands perfectly. “Here! See the author?” It said, somehow inflecting a massive grin—even though It had given up on localizing Its speech the moment Madii asked to see Its work.

“Endomycorrhizae in Fungal Graft Vascular Symbiosis, second edition, authored by Myconia Everybud, Third Bloom.” She read aloud before opening the large pages and skimming over the table of contents. “Wow.. Myconia you must be a professor or something, this is amazing!”

“No, I’ve never taught, though I’ve been told by friends I would be quite good at it. Not sure if I believe them.” It added sheepishly. A confused look crossed Madii’s face. “I mean like, you must be a really prestigious scientist! To be able to run all these tests and publish a whole book must need a huge amount of funding and review!”

“Darling..” Myconia gave Madii a smile that felt a little patronizing. “We’re post scarcity, remember? We believe everyone has a right to knowledge and its creation. I published this almost entirely in this home and the zero-g lab I share with some other sophonts.”

“But what about qualifications? If there’s nothing to stop anyone from saying anything-”

“It’s science, Madii! Knowledge comes from repeatable experiments, and there’s more than enough people interested in the world to peer review each other.” Myconia watched Madii process the thought for a moment before adding. “The more you learn about the Compact, the more you’ll understand our way of thinking, I’m sure. You’re a very smart cutie.” A single vine gave Madii’s shoulder a friendly nudge, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Maybe you’re right. Do you think one day..” Madii paused, and her smile faltered. What was she thinking, letting this plant make her hopeful? If they were willing to use drugs and hypnosis and whatever else to control people, wouldn’t they also be willing to dangle a dream in front of her? She’s already fallen for that once, and besides, it’s not like she had anything actually useful to contribute to a society this advanced.

“What is it, cutie?” Myconia said, cocking Its head slightly. These prolonged thinking pauses were proving to be quite hazardous to the little thing, even if she was adorable all caught up in her own head. She’d be even cuter with no thoughts at all. Great flames, Myconia, you were doing so well.

“No, nevermind.” Madii shook her head and lowered her eyes, reaching for something to change the topic to. “Umm.. What are blooms? You’ve gone from first to fourth, and people keep mentioning them, is it like a caste system?”

“By the Everbloom, Madii!” Myconia laughed as It lifted the book back onto the shelf. “No! Every 300 years or so, or when they’re hurt particularly badly, an Affini can rebloom. Sometimes their appearance changes, usually their personality does too, just a little. We can also elect to wilt, if we so choose, though you can imagine it’s discouraged. The process is actually really interesting—blooming, I mean—We pull all the nutrients from our external biomass into our cores and go through a whole process of mass-mitosis and telomere maintenance! It’s kind of like negative senescence and dormancy at the same time!” Myconia’s four eyes drifted as It spoke, gazing out the window at the twinkling stars, and the tips of Its vines twitched ever so slightly.

This time, it was Madii’s turn to watch. Myconia looked so happy talking about Its science, she was happy to have the spotlight off herself for a moment. And, if she was being honest, she was just as happy to get to hear Myconia speak. Maybe this thing really was the scientist it claimed to be. Maybe… no No NO. There was no room for sentimentality, and she was an idiot. She had to stay aware, and stay focused. That fucker wanted to make her Its PET, and she could never let that out of her head. Wait, did It say 300 years?