First Quarter

Chapter Seventy-Six: Back to the Present

“But that means you’ll be killing yourself!” Mallory said in alarm, remembering that their consciousness is equal to their life. The reason they were alive was simply because they had developed consciousness.

Rather than responding to her directly, the plant chose to narrate a story. “I had lived for thousands of years in seclusion, never wanting to go out as I find the outside world unappealing. I do have companions with me, but they wither and die, trying to save everyone they fancy outside. I couldn’t understand why until I lived in my own company for a very long while.]

The plant...