Atoms in the Air (Finished)

Warmth.

         It took Its first breath, pain rocketing into its core. It realized there was something resonating around it, causing pain within as well. Softness under Its form, digits grasped and clenched. Fabric... It knew the word. It moved, limbs stiff and new, and sensation prickled along the reverse side - Spine... It had one now, like humans did... - and wondered; What else will It feel? It would feel so many things, so many new things. It opened its eyes, Its new vision dark and blurred - It knew those words, but didn't understand them.

         'It will see better, we promise.' It heard, echoing in the new cavity that held itself. 'We have woken up as well, and the sight is suitable,' Its companion spoke in Its mind, 'Be patient.'

         Blinking, it started to see properly. The light hurt, even as small as it was. It moved a limb to see pigment covering what used to be Itself, and stared as it disappeared underneath. 'That is skin, that is the name humans give it.'

         'Skin... Name...?' It looked around, muscles in the eyes aching with newness. Looking above hurt the most, concentrated light centered there, so it shifted to look aside and saw a new form. They stared at It.

         They moved the corners of their mouth, pulling them upwards. 'Humans will call It something, whether It likes it or not, unfortunately.' Their muscles contorted, but It felt.... calmer. 'We were human once before, and Our name was Gabriel, but We are new now.' They placed themselves on their lower limbs - legs - and moved to a surface upon the side of the containment walls.

         "I think I like Michael." Loud, so very loud. It winced at more pain, but like the light, there was little to be done for the sensitivity. It will get used to it. But They, Michael, spoke out loud for the first time to It, and now there was something new to learn; Sound. "What about you?" He turned towards it, "You don't have much idea what you'd like to be called do you? I had no clue the first time I chose a form. That's alright."

         He walked over to the other side and placed his hand on the wall. A sharp hissing sound prompted a portion of the wall to drop, making It cover Its new ears. "Come on, I'll show you around." Micheal watched as It looked down at Its own legs, unsure of how to start. He walked back over with a smile, "Baby steps then..." Michael tugged on Its arms, and It almost fought back, something clenching in Its new chest; Fear, something It was familiar with. "It's alright, I won't let you fall."

         It shut Its eyes and let Michael pull, and then, with wobbly knees and shaky balance, It felt pressure on the bottoms of Its feet. Its breathing hitched and quickened. "It's okay! You're alright," Michael's voice was soft now, and soothing. "I know there's a lot going on right now, but you're doing good." He kept tugging on Its arms, making It take a step. Then another, and another; More steps than It thought it could. Michael brought It to the surface it had looked at earlier, and It saw a second Michael. It frowned. "It's just a Mirror. You can see yourself inside it, see?"

         He pulled, and soon, It could see a new figure. The figure was smaller than Michael, but... Similar? Seeing both similarities and differences at the same time was disturbing... the figure had light tufts atop his head, and eyes the color of the walls, the name of which was still foreign. "That is you now. It's funny, we are made of the same materials as humans, and all things..."

         It turned, and spoke for the first time in a while, 'We are? But... We are not the same as they are...'

         "Not in a whole," He smiled, "But everything - The sun, the planets, Humans, Munashii, and even we Seosi - are made up of the same elements. The same rocks we ingested, that made us, are in the moons and comets, and in Humans. Everything is made up of smaller and smaller things until only atoms are left. There... We are all equal."

'Atoms?'

         "The smallest type of materials, what humans call, the building blocks of the universe. Everything starts with atoms." His eyes widened, "Oh, I have an idea! Look, look..." He got excited, pointing back to the mirror. It squinted at the surface, wondering what he was seeing that It wasn't. "I told you about names," He moved out of the way until It could only see Itself, "How about... Adam...?"

         Adam... Atom... The thing that unified all things. Something fluttered around inside of It, but now it felt good... It had only heard whispers among the Within; Of Humans, both terrible and great; of Planets both harsh and loving; of lives lived long and short, and those who chose to stay. It learned new words but didn't know how to imagine them. It- No... He, spoke once more, quiet and pensive, 'Beautiful.' Michael smiled wide at Adam.



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         The Seosi.

         Hundreds of thousands of millennia old, these beings went unheard up until 800 Years ago. Floating from deep space that few have traveled, they were mistaken as unintelligent life, much like how Humans view undersea sponges, and very few were concerned with their presence. It was only recently that someone netted one of the metallic blobs to study, only to be bombarded with telepathic intelligence once physical contact was made. It was learned that the beings thought that their race was alone; having no external senses, telepathy was the only way to communicate.

         In a matter of days, the universe learned that these sentient blobs are part of a group mind, the thought only broken with interaction with other species. They use 'We' as a personal genderless pronoun, and call everything that isn't themselves 'It' or 'They'. They only named themselves - the race - Seosi; it was the only one they knew or remembered. They have no concept of light, or color, or smell, or taste, or pain. They are alone within themselves, and with each other. They tended to be Geophagic, engulfing the minerals floating in space with their membrane, giving them their shimmering or metallic color.

         It was within the days after that the universe also learned that Seosi changed. They found a new Grey sitting in the room where the blob once had. They changed their form to understand; at least that was their reasoning and continues to be.

         They have no desires of politics, or war, or fame, or fortune. They simply wish to feel, experience the universe, and understand. They mimic other species that physically interact with it, forming into a new being. Though they have the ability to change back to extend their near infinite life, many choose to stay on race, even if that means aging, and eventually dying. They have a peace of mind that no other race possesses. Within that, they can do as they please, assimilating to the society and beings around them.