As my body tried to take off the current place where I seemed stuck, my vision allowed me to come into a realization of what the place was, or at least what the surroundings appeared to be. I mean, those blobs in my field of view are like gaseous bubbles that float in between the water.

When I went full slime-steering mode and the water around me whirled… It was akin to washing clothes, not that I had skin… More like throwing rocks at the water and creating a current that at the same time created more bubbles!

The not so majestic scene of plopping bubbles and dancing structures akin to algae was still mind-breaking. Not because of what I could see, yet because of its oddity which gave a desolate feel; if it wasn’t for the heat beneath myself that appeased my lacking senses, I would have gone insane.

This floor was ‘like a sun’ or better call it, a light. Its whiteness was represented as blinding tiles in my pixelated vision, thank god this waffle gridlines were smoothed by A18 and improved with amplification steps, yet for all I tried, nothing outside expectations happened; thus, my form manipulation stopped as I regressed to the so-called low power mode.

And now, returning to the ‘puddle’ form, I started to hack my brain towards a solution and logical possibility of ‘movement’. I corrected my vision sensor, which was practically a squared grid that rotated with my slimy form. It made the 3 arrows/vectors point to the correct directions as its bottom-side pointed to the floor. The lens above it was circular, like a convex surface with an angle that protected it, yet allowed for light to gather.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Puddle vision working under MC, doesn't need commands to turn on. Although they can be used to adjust consumption.

There is a succubus above G00, although in this one it is a bit cut by the picture.

Spoiler: Spoiler

It was a quick draw.

It wasn’t perfectly designed, but at this small-scale size and with an AI that practically did things with a thought given by the user, its creation wasn’t a hard project even if disregarding the programming expertise.

The process of assembling and conceptualizing seemed to omit the writing of thoughts in codes like JAVA, JS or python. It was directly translated to A18’s machine language or whatever it used.

In that way, A18 followed the imaginative recipe and developed the project as the constructor and civil engineer, following the architect's design and correcting with cute warnings whenever something didn’t work. An easy job, since for a puddle development profession, you just needed a bit of knowledge or the will to learn.

However, truth be told that It wasn’t a wish machine that worked only with imagination, it needed precise input like toy-blocks or bricks that required a creative but ‘functional’ assemble.

Different from my convex and square cased head, the body was resting like a slice of loaf turning crispy. The weird puddle structure and its proprioceptive sensor showed my body's condition.

The ‘Gyroscope Pirate’ told me how my vision was adjusted to the equilibrium of the Puddle-vision sensor (head), whilst the ‘Cat-pawsition’ proprioceptive sensor told me the current body’s position, like how articulations or surface adjusted: ‘stretched like a puddle’.

Good for me that this time, my back isn’t touching the ground and my PV-sensor is perfectly positioned with GP’s red arrow which represents up. It meant that the roof of my vision field pictured the dark waters above the light. I am impressed to have defined each of the 3 vectors and created a gyroscope sensor, being a cyclops I am akin to having one eye patched. Yes, I will need to create another sensor for ‘depth’.

There is a big difference in what a pirate shouting ‘Aye, Yar, and Yohoho!’ saw above a ship through a telescope, a reason why binoculars were created; the so-called stereoscopic vision. Am I limited by human thoughts? No, but I can feel that crave for humanity, not that I won’t surround my body with cameras or drones if I had the ability. A 1000 eyed monster is not out of the list if it has value to protect your ‘housing’ and domains.

Despite that, being human is part of what we know, the things we don’t, are just fearful and suicidal, thus I am regretting not having enough time as a human and the ephemeralness of those moments.

Puddle or slime, neither of these forms are very useful to move underwater. They can only move through the floor, or with weird movements depending on rolling or flapping.

Supposing I don’t control all my mass when ‘rolling or puddling’, it represents the inefficient way of locomotion. My center of gravity being the unmoving pieces controlled by the AI just made the wobbling interior that hard to stir in control.

Oh! I can become something like a flatfish and move… Hmm, No, it will need too much coordination of the surfaces, and the core can’t become completely flat. I already researched a bit on form mechanics, and it’s not that the AI can’t change form at will. It’s just that I will need to program it.

Attempting to create or introduce new things to the system needs extra work even from me. The best outcome is keeping the form as similar to a… Pseudo-puddle or a slime-ball. It isn’t that the work is difficult, it’s just that I need motivational output, and sometimes CATs won’t regulate this crave as a cat anxiety treatment.

This time my wish isn’t for purr-puns, it is for exploring, not for adventure but for safety. I need somewhere secure, a place where my life is ‘slice n wifely’, yet my dreams were partially broken. My motivational catput (output) of anxiety isn’t helping as no reward is given and it just makes me escape from reality. I am something unknown, in an unknown place and without the colors in my previous life.

This moment of puddle-reflection mirrors my sensor image to the right position as it tilts my vision while doing a side-cyclopoid poker face. ‘I’m underwater’, that’s all I can think.

I even believed that A18 had attached herself to the floor with an anchor to make an ‘April fool’s joke’ out of me when the rolling didn’t work. Yet my idea of becoming a ‘cat with a succubus atop its head’ was broken by the surroundings. People would love to become a cat and be patted by many ladies…

Okay, that’s only me… But, if I reincarnate as a dragon, women would fear me, if I were a cat… A cat that would let ladies ‘touch’ it like a dog… I would be extremely popular once again! I needed my playboy life so bad… My solution… A catfish… Nay, that shit of slimy fish won’t be received any better than a sea cucumber!

My soul seems preserved with emotions, something I can’t explain but shows how my anger and anxiety invade me whilst forcing me to find a solution to my unmoving paradigm. A18, what’s the percentage of form manipulation based on my current rolling tests?

Answering my puddle, the percentage of form manipulation is ~19%.

Well, when they say you control only your muscles but not the viscera and systems they are stating a fact. I mean it should be obvious, I controlled like 40%, but the vision sensor is like half of it already. Resting the bits of extra that I used for decoration and extra translation and you end up with less.

Now that my movement depends on that 19% of pieces I am allowed to move, I need an efficient plan. It’s not bad, but I can’t control the whole body, at least not with an innately human behaved mind. It also takes into account, that I can only do one thing at a time… Okay, maybe more, yet the later will be accomplished half-assedly.

So here I am, stuck over a heating mat of light, inside a water dark fluid that’s surrounded by weird plantations with flecks of gaseous bubbles that raise to an unknown darkness. A situation that makes you think gravity is going backward. Maybe I am magnetic, and the bottom is repelling me sending me to the top of an underwater cavern. That could explain things and there is no distinction as to why the plants grow on the ceiling as those grow near a light, yet it doesn’t answer what this light is.

Ah, my bad, wrong speculation when I already have the answers… Trust your systems idiot! The position sensor should be based on gravity or some force, if after checking translation errors it isn’t wrong then A18 must have her reasons, add the bubbles which are lower density rising to the darkness… Seems that I have been overthinking things and became too serious. I should give A18 a better name, instead of that…

My thoughts drifted as I stopped my stupid jokes and cat rewards for a moment. It was a point of not knowing what to do. I checked my status as my mind stared or thought if that’s what it should be called, it locked on the AI’s name, which remained AI16.

A18 was AI16 since it was like a nickname or title. ‘I shouldn’t steal her roots…’ Was what I thought again while succumbing to an incomprehensible emotion. Heh, it’s hilarious how this black and white environment made me go all depressed and fearful. Shouldn’t this motivate me to look?

A18…

Yes, my puddle?

No command input received from user… Turning off AI listener for command.

… Nothing… I’ll give you a surprise when I think of a nice one… My thought process staggered as I stared at the seemingly infinite darkness above, a cluster of black water with sparkling fireflies of dust that whirled towards its burrowing jaws.

Nightmares and fears are created by us when we are alone, we fear to have nothing to support us, and we fear the unknown. My mind took a hit of that, just because I was human. Thankful to my situation of at least having someone or something to share this with me, I adjusted my mind's bearings with a blurred image of a purple succubus telling me some love and motivational phrase. If I had tears, I would have felt some windshield washer fluid dripping from the lens of my vision sensor; ten percent humidity, not too sad, yet watery.

Yes, at least I had some support. It was better than being totally alone in such an eerie place. A18, my image of her started changing the more I lurked in this isolated puddle. Memories of my previous life resurfaced as I peered at the aquatic plants.

They were tangling with each other in side-to-side pairings, some formed silhouettes like people cuddling while the bubbles reflected a light that resembled a couple's scene on Christmas. It added to the remembrance of the girl I fell for before losing my human self. A fusion of my love and what I thought of A18 developed, black hair, blue dress… Mm, slithering plants and breasts…

Wait!I need something like tentacles!

A18 start simulation of form based on…

Starting a form simulation, the basic interface will be turned off during the simulation process. ~

At these sizes the best way to move is by swimming, bacteria that can’t move are usually stagnant and easily disposed of. Compared to their counterparts, there are some that move with a tube or some sort of tentacle called flagellum.

Different from those types of tentacles, flagella can rotate with precision and create the perfect propulsion for the blob of a puddle that I have become.

A18 show me the design.

Showing prototype image...

Spoiler: Spoiler

Prototype for G00's new form.

The simulation process wasn’t that hard, but it wasn’t that perfect in design. I needed to take my toy-blocks and add them together like bricks, I was the concept designer and the AI was the end artist.

The concept was like the outside of a concept car, just for show. It needed experimentation and execution. Once again, builds and sketches that took longer than expected until the whole process was finally completed, a way to move in this pesky situation.

This thing called 'flagellum' was the only wheel type system of all evolution, something that served at small sizes and was highly efficient. Being the only wheel system in evolution was not because the wheel was hard to make by biological lifeforms. In fact, the wheel, rotors, and engines first users where microscopic lifeforms.

The reason why a wheel is not used that much in biology as a means of locomotion is that limbs are more favorable. Articulations have more purposes, they even let you create wheels afterward. This flagellum and engine, are part of the most interesting fields for designing nanomachinery.

How did it work? It wasn’t simple at all, especially if you never knew that biological motors existed and they were better in efficiency than some we have designed at the macro-level.

The current reversible proton-propelled-motor consists of 4 electrochemical driven plate/disks, stators, and rotors that make a flagellum composed of a cross-section 9-2 organized tubules spin. These tubules that were formed by nanomachine agglomeration, twist forming a left-handed helicoid shape.

The engine uses the force of protons (positive-charged hydrogen) between its stators and rotors to generate gradient energy. The Motility engine is polarized and creates an electrochemical dependent force, which in turn, creates the oscillating rotation for the hook and filaments on the center shaft. There are even disks that work like car clutches and differentials.

The left helical pattern formed by the hair structure is supposed to rotate counterclockwise and rounds up many speed levels. Since I have ‘variable’ problems, low speed will be called 1. High speed is about twenty times that. It can be calculated comparing the number of whips that are seen in a picture. It will provide a speed of about 1 times my size at a time called z (a time I am not sure of). The time calculus and distance are very different from human ones.

I delved into this before. I am not human, a second is a time concept for humans, based on sun, calendars and then based on atomic clocks. The concept is so observer-dependent that the atomic international time has a voting system for defining real-time. Now, imagine if I took time as x value and wanted to explain it to A18 that understands a different value. It’s like speaking Fahrenheit to a Celsius native because there won’t be a consensus if you can’t achieve conversions, especially since both of the people above can’t do a perfect measurement. It means that 1 C° can be 1.11 C° in the next measure, the same for F°.

Thus, I decided to use a comparison, z being the time that it takes to advance a body at minimum rotor power, which is around 20 oscillations. My maximum rotor power is 1200 oscillations in the same amount of ‘time’ that my minimum advances 1 body. This means that my maximum speed is 60 bodies in a z amount of time. It is because my maximum speed is 1200 vs 20 oscillations. (1 b/z – the body being near or less than 1mm is an approx. For readers and writer raccoon to have an idea, real size is unknown at the moment).

So in summary, my speed is defined by when I advance a distance akin to my length, and z is the time for that. (20 minimum force rotations of the flagellum). My maximum speed is 1200 rotations per z (like rpm), which means 160bodies in/z time.

A18 show me my status.

My puddle’s awesome stats stir through the darkest of waters!~

Oh! That sounds better!

Spoiler: Spoiler

RR table:

Spoiler: Spoiler G00's Status Name G00 Completion Status 21% complete - 70% lost - 9% unknown - (O_O) Nanorobots Shows NRs Status Nanorobots 130/??? Micromachines 1237/??? Nanomachines ~50 million per micromachine. NRs in Use ??? MRs in Use ??? Artificial Intelligences Shows AI's in current 'body' Number of Ais 1 AIs Names AI-16 Form Shows Current Form Current Form Puddle ---> Bubble-Tentacle Representation ~63% accurate and increasing Energy Information Shows Energy That Keeps Me Alive (C.A.T.) Energy Level Medium, not increasing…

(Needs higher charge?) Maximum Energy Needs sensor for battery/Energy? Daily Energy Consumption Needs time and battery sensor? External Sensor Information Basic sensors for outside Heat Working - Moderate Temperature. Gross Touch Working - Surface B (Belly) in Contact. Vision Working - User Interface connected real time.

(Ultrasaving mode activated when not in use) Internal Sensor Information Basic sensors for inside Propioception Stretched Puddle Loaf - Changing to Tentacle monster =P Equilibrioception Head is equilibrated Kinetic Sensor Working, preparing to move. Active users Checks on users interacting with the project. Me G00 - The one and only Admin - Currently anticipating to roll.

Seeing my status once again, I care for the completion of the movement system and its energy expenditure. How far from this place can I go and be safe is unknown. I need to be extremely careful when leaving this light spot where I am.

Doing a quick test I complete everything I was missing on the list for the quest event. First I learned how the rotating mechanism worked, it rotated anticlockwise. The helicoidally structure turned rigid in run mode, it was like a spring.

As it stirred, the torque generated a counterforce to the body, which made it spin to adjust the flow. It wasn’t something I prepared for, but since I had a bit of separation between the ball like body and the sensor as an enclosed head, I made the square inside to remain still. That way, while my body repressed the torque and the flagellum rotated, I could have a static field of vision without much turbulence.

A18 show me the current test results.

Showing results for design.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Puddle vision lens. Followed by Puddle vision sensor. Followed by 'body. Followed by Flagellum.

The red arrow is the spin/torque generated by the flagellum's engine. It makes the body spin, but the body can resist it to increase thrust. The vision module is like a 360° rotation head, it remains still even if the body rotates. Green arrow is counter clockwise for forward thrust.

The size of the ‘spring-like’ structure, was changed until finding the adequate axial radius and pitch. Not much to talk since this varied in the force needed to rotate the nanomachines that composed it.

What made the whole thing more interesting was that it had a stopping chain, breaks, stators, rotors, clutch, etc. Something that even if I touched it on my studies, made me quite happy to make. Nothing more satisfying than finishing a project you invested your ideas on.

The next step once the locomotion device was checked, was energy. Energetic consumption turned out to be lower as I was expecting something more demanding. Turns out my watch over cat videos consumes a lot more than I thought.

How did I find it? Doing designs or just thinking by myself reduced consumption and allowed the AI to gather more ‘heat’ energy. The level was medium and I tried to watch cat videos and count the oscillations. Turns out consumption with cat videos plus flagellum oscillations consumes a lot more energy.

Doing a simple equation you can differentiate them, and notice a difference by comparing the result of energy consumption from what the AI calls medium level towards low levels.

The movement mechanics have two types; thrust, and tumble. Thrust sends me forward, while tumble is like whipping. The first one is achieved by continuous rotation whilst the second one requires a counter-rotation with pauses to produce a lashing effect.

For better maneuvers, I used the last of the nanomachines to create 4 small flaps at my belly. They allowed me to glide and maintain a guided direction like a submarine. It would be better to have extra flagella, but not enough machines for those.

Clockwise rotation: Backwards. Counter-Clockwise Rotation: Forward. Tumble: Pause thrust and change direction. Flaps: Adjust Direction and stabilize for ‘human’ control.

Vision-Sensor: Adjusted to maintain stillness while the body rotates. In my sensors that would be a discerning pirate and a spinning cat. Not that much of a joke though, at least pilots on an F35 will feel envy of my interface.

Finally, after my rigorous motion testing, I got the notification of the completed ‘quest’.

QUEST COMPLETE!!! ~

Spoiler: Spoiler

CHECK FOR REWARDS:

Spoiler: Spoiler

My puddle... (Flushed A18)

I like your moves… And how you move~

I also like your tan lines! ~

Moves obtained:

The rolling slime, The flappy tentacle, The thrust.

Yes, I am not dumb, I know what a cluster of nanomachines can become if you invest enough building materials. It’s just that being human you wish to eat pizza, have money, play games, etc. You wish to have your wishes fulfilled, especially if you die young like me, without returning the favor to your progenitors nor achieving your future goals. It just reads like an incomplete story, something you wish to know more of. The type of thing that made me think of the idea, if I can’t play games in reality, how about making reality a game?

At least I would feel like grinding and playing all the time. A18, try to get as much energy as possible, we are going to remain low consumption until partially charged.

Now, it is real-time to get out of here. And with that, I mean leaving my comfort zone to search for a better place to bill god about leaving me without my deserved OP-ness.