Dr. Salis adjusted her visor as she stepped onto the Hollow Spire—a kilometer-tall stalk of metallic fungi rising from the scorched surface of Kezren-4. Her research on its rapid growth patterns had revealed something alarming: the structure was expanding toward the orbital station’s tether, threatening to snap it.
She activated a laser cutter, carving a control sample, when the stalk trembled. A pulse traveled through it, not random but…intentional. She hesitated. Was it sentient?
The Spire pulsed again, forming a pattern. She uploaded the sequence to her AI. Translation: **”You cut. We fall.”**
Suddenly, she saw it—beneath the planet’s crust, an intricate network of fungal towers, all connected. The Spire wasn’t just growing; it was holding the planet together.
Abandoning her cutter, Salis sent a warning to the station. “Relocate the tether. We coexist, or we collapse.”
The Spire pulsed one last time. She could almost feel its gratitude.
Leave a Reply