Part 1: The blob's inner architecture.

I-I am free!

The blob didn't take my life nor imprisoned me. That means, only one thing...

Freedoooom!

Um, okay. Just a lousy mind-shouting event while I hovered in a bigger sea after my escape from a dwelling prison. It seems that a tater-based diet during scarce periods made you brave. An interesting side effect, but let's be serious, it's time to concentrate on reality...

Below myself were two massive 'worlds' were colliding—one being the bubble prison from where I escape, the other, the carrier of the venomous substance. Two ellipsoid 'rooms' fused slowly until they became one. I watched all of that from outside.

In reality, their combination was different from my 'digestive system' which worked more like two space stations connecting through a valve or a door. The first sphere had a bigger door to collect things. The second sphere had a smaller one, used to prevent the digestive NMs from going overkill. Maybe I can take this as a learning experience to improve something in the future.

My puddle the propulsion systems are overtaxed. Initiating repairs...

Starting motor system repair...

Analyzing current damages to the motor systems...

[...]

Modular analysis complete...

Calculating solutions...

Accumulated damage to the project is limiting complete repair...

Selecting resources for replacement...

Assortment established...

Checking further resources for repairs...

Resources lacking...

[...]

Starting system passive absorption...

Checking the environment...

[...]

An expected outcome and the reason why I stayed adrift, overusing my motor system made my flagellum limp. The AI was also doing everything within her possibilities to restore its functions. A process that would probably take a while.

The good thing was—that while I floated above my previous prison—I could see the distant surroundings…

In the faraway range, outlines of constructions were visible. Furthermore, the liquid outside the spherical prison had some sort of sparkling dust, giving me the impression of a 'starry space'.

Huge rods and shiny objects were moving from place to place inside my visual field. It was similar to watching constellations and thousands of vessels that dashed in a similar manner to shooting stars in space. The bigger ones had the appearance of planets and stars, but I knew they were related to the thing which trapped me—spherical constructs that carried something in their interior.

Many of these bubbles were hovering in the space around me, but with a more detailed inspection, they were actually mobilizing towards the unknown limits of my vision. Each bubble floated in close proximity to the constructions and mild vibrations were displayed as they advanced in some sort of schematized pathway.

By rigorously focusing on my visuals, I found something below each bubble. Their balloon-like shapes were secured by twisting filaments that were attached to gear-like machinery.

Surprisingly, the way these bubble-pulling machines moved was somehow incredulous, it was human-like...

They carried bubbles like backpacks as they hiked over sturdy filament spirals and irregular columns. Like little kids playing with helium balloons but defying all concepts of gravity. To make it odder, the roads they ran over were also outside the norm...

Even a futuristic city would pale in comparison to the colossal constructions inside the blob. Everything was composed of shifting machines that appeared alive when seen from my minuscule perspective.

This inconceivable type of architecture consisted of straight rods, interlacing fibers, and bundled filaments. But these buildings and streets weren’t static. It was like seeing the Empire State bending its form between straight and curved; swinging with pendular movements while wobbling, spiraling, stretching and shrinking… Even looping!

Highways that adopted a tridimensional snake-like behavior.

It was flabbergasting...

Really, this kind of framework left me without words. In addition, when I gazed at the horizon in my field of vision, all of these structures became a ramified tree that tried to intersect at a point at the ends of my visuals. Hence, why I didn't have enough words to describe the unworldly mesh that I was seeing.

Part 2: Moving forward.

Repairing...

1%

.

.

.

99%...

Propulsion systems repaired!

Checking drivers...

Reconnecting user interface...

[…]

My puddle, the user interface controls have been restored.

Eh? That didn’t take as long as I expected. Are you sure I can move now, A18?

Yes, my puddle. The strain on the motor system was solved.

Great! Time to get out of this thing.

I guess time passed too quickly without me noticing. No one likes to watch a loading screen go from 0 to 100% if you have something better to look at. Anyways, time to leave.

After regaining control and thrusting myself forward, I arrived at a close position to the structures around. I still tried to avoid them, who knew if by touching one of those strings would sound an alarm. I still remember my miserable experiences too well to do something unrequired.

I needed to leave this place right now!

Alas, things weren't easy, swimming in this new ocean was harder than I thought.

A18, we are moving too slow. Please check a way to get us out of here.

Yes! checking...

The fluid inside this part of the blob didn't taint my visor while I swam, and the light from the structures around allowed me to 'see' through the fluid as if it was a slightly murkier version of water. So even if my visibility decreased, it wasn't bad compared to the original, just a bit limiting in far-sightedness, like swimming in the sea instead of a pool. In summary, with the blob’s inside fireworks, anything important was already flashy enough to take into account.

My advancement was slug-paced. I had nothing else to do but to stare at the constructions around. Actually, being able to check on them closer showed me that the columns had an uneven surface. They weren’t perfectly cylindrical but had a rough shape as if made by various smaller blocks.

Now I felt like some pro-diver looking at some ancient ruins below the oceans.

Even more startling was seeing that some of the big columns opened like an octopus and started to unravel. Yes, one of the previously mentioned rods was formed by eight strings of conjoined building blocks. When the 8 strings composed of blocks separated, the process resembled fireworks. There were other variants of rods. Some were made of two types of blocks, others of four or more. It was just that they weren't as attention-catching as this one.

By eyeing the tips where it was being 'deconstructed' I found something that moved. The rods' construction project actually depended on tiny and unknown mechanized constructs at their ends. This gave the impression that the cylindrical columns were basically appearing and disappearing in real-time.

Their image in my vision was like assembling dragons that slithered through hasty clouds of floating spume and bubbles that assumed the form of planets.

The only problem was... that I was losing my sense of direction and my AI couldn't give me a solution...

A18, we have been moving in a straight direction, right? Do you have an answer to what I asked you? Why do I feel we haven't really made any progress?

We have been moving forward based on the positional sensors. But the environment has been adjusting as we move.

Wait, is that the reason why we are seeing the same things all the time as if we haven't moved?

There are forces that prevent my puddle from advancing in the desired direction. The proposed solution is to search for another path, but since no path has been found the query hasn't been answered.

...

The conversation continued but it didn't give me a satisfactory answer. My plan was to get out of here, but invisible 'waves' were making me go towards the deep ocean instead of the blobs beachy surface. It gave me the perception that the blob's liquid adjusted itself to keep me in place. In fact, I might be triggering some sort of invisible mechanism that I couldn't get a hold of. Was it like swimming in petroleum?

Um, since the AI couldn't help me in this confusing situation I had to order my possibilities. I paused in the middle of the columnar meshes.

Let's see, we are in a liquid-filled space with waves like the sea. Inside of it, I can't move freely, so I need to copy whatever moves in this place.

Doing a list, we have ballon carrying/walking machines, snake-like constructions that assembled in real-time, huge and small ships that swam through the visible space...

Everything made me delve in thoughtfulness while I inspected this unexpected spectacle. My first options were the ships, yet they were too far away and their locomotion mechanisms an enigma. Probably not rentable since I didn't have a way to get on those or create another type of device to move.

The second option was the rods and those walking machines above them. There were many types of those, but at least some of them appeared to stay within my reach. I could probably get on one of those cylinders...

Yes, that's a good idea, but now the problem became which cylinder to choose. There are too many types of them and some were creating looping rings without even stretching towards a specific direction.

…

My mindful stop lasted for a while. I choose to go towards a straight one around 45 degrees to my left.

Gathering my resolve, I moved by pushing the fluid inside the blob with my flagellum. The advancement was slow but steady. It really wasn't easy, the waters had currents that made me realize little changes in direction. There were even big waves that made me whirl and return to the restarting point. I felt like I'd been killed in a game over and over having to start everything from scratch. At least experience wasn't deleted and even my AI started to gain better with it.

It wasn't that A18 couldn't receive signals and adjust a direction, it was just that there were too many in the environment for her check on all. Checking for the strongest or nearest to me was the current priority.

For every new try, the AI would advise me better. Like whenever a huge current appeared she will deduce a better path to avoid it. She was even predicting places where they would appear with better accuracy.

I have been trying non-stop, yet for a strange reason I wasn't tired and the energy levels remained stable. A bug?

...

However, I was still returned to my initial point.

A18, I feel lucky this time, let's try agai—

My puddle, multiple signals are being received.

Eh? Another one? Where will it come from A18?

The signals are locking at a point ‘2.1 bodies’ above you. The received signal this time is different. There is no gradient suggesting a current.

Not a current? And appearing above?

My body bent allowing my vision to stare at the open space around me. There I saw nothing new, but after a minuscule time-lapse, a weird structure assembled at the farthest ends of my sight. Yeah, another one of those constructions, but this one was bigger than the ones I saw before.

It resembled the end of a huge bridge. A bridge that was being built in a fast-paced manner, block over block being attached in a harmonious assembly. I watched as it came closer and closer from its starting point at the end of the shiny but foggy ‘sky’ within my sight.

At first, I believed it to only be a gigantic version of those rods I saw before, yet by witnessing the real-time building process, I could conclude that its interior was hollow. Something that made it different... a tunnel?

This tube’s bricks were distributed like a spiraling staircase. The structure’s direction, however, was apparently straight, like an unending straw with its other end turning blurry. An engineering mindset of the assembling would make it seem mesmerizing, repetitive, and simple; yet satisfying to a degree which rendered me unable to stop watching the bridge's construction process.

With curiosity sparking, I decided to swim my way there and check on the process of its construction from a different angle. At least, this tube was passing near, which might allow me to grab onto it.

The appearance was still that of a cylindrical bridge, and even though its surface from far away seemed curved—when closing in—the pieces that comprised it appeared jagged. In summary, the surface wasn’t perfectly circular since the blocks had some irregular ends.

On the visible end of the tube, many smaller machines like butterflies could be seen working on its assembly. They added additional blocks at a rather fast pace. This made the construction development visible, and before I could depict the whole process, the bridge-like tube passed above my ‘head’ until both ends of it were ‘undetectable’.

My puddle, copious amounts of varying signals have been perceived. They are being emitted at its ends. Many additional signals seem to be traveling through its inside in the same direction as its construction.

Hearing my AI gave me a clue about what this structure could be. If the blob uses this for information, doesn’t that mean these things are somehow similar to cables or nerves?

Part 3: Reaching a highway.

Swiming my way towards the tube was actually easier than I though. It seemed the tube created some sort of aura or field that protected me from those currents. I should've known such thing would appear and I just needed to wait for the bus stop.

Hmph, making me lose my precious time...

My puddle, the system has detected a change in the environment after repairing the movement devices.

Hm, this... I seem to have omitted the repair screen telling me the AI was checking the environment.

Tell me A18.

Upon increasing the amount of ingested fluid for signal scanning, the strain over the flagellum and the system has been reducing. The final outcome being that the fluid in the environment contains substances that stabilize the damages to the project. It’s providing energy and resources.

Wait! Shouldn’t the 'mouth' sphere be carrying the potato potion? How can we digest things without an empty 1st sphere?

The liquid around the project contains a small amount of already digested resources that can be used directly by the system. The 1st sphere still has 40% of the total capacity (4 of 10 servings) and has not been used.

Hey, does that mean that we can passively repair ourselves?

The thought struck me as I watched the mysterious environment while in deep consideration. I really wanted to leave the blob's body as fast as I could. However, if this is what I think it was...

A18 show me a scan of the elements.

Yes, my puddle.

Retrieving Results...

Following a list shown in my mind-space, I came to a conclusion.

First, the fluid inside the blob had a different concentration of elements in comparison to the external environment. But apart from isolated variations, it was very similar in what I classified as water composition.

Secondarily, the fluid appeared to have many of the required elements that my body needed for repair. The tricky part was that these elements’ availability was scant. It wasn’t enough to create new MMs with the feeble amount in it.

Lastly, the unknown elements needed by the AI were not identifiable, so an objective analysis couldn’t be completed at the moment. The good side was, that even without having a conclusive result, the current conditions were favorable and appeared to be repairing the damages and wounds of my previous escape from the blobs.

It actually was what relieved the strain the flagellum withstood after escaping from the prison and made it possible for the AI to repair things faster. Despite all this, procuring unknown elements needed to create MMs were a priority.

In the end, I asked the AI to name all elements I didn’t know with empty variables (Unknown elements A, B, C... etc).

A18, did you find any unknown element in the fluid?

The analysis concludes that there are traces of them in it.

Please start collecting data on each of those.

Yes.

It will take a while to complete the list, but since it was an unfamiliar area, we just needed to experiment and find the things that worked. The problem here was that an unknown element would be called ‘unknown-element-A’ instead of 'oxygen' based on the current approach.

I wanted to have a similarity to the chemistry table in my past life. Nonetheless, if it wasn’t possible, I would need to study and experiment on the atoms, address a number to each, and... give a ‘novel’ name to the unknowns.

Aieighteenium?

Gooinium?

Anyways, the priority right now was to see if we could get an advantage for being inside of the blob. These differences of concentrations we found were an incomplete birthday cake. Well, more like crumbles... because the important point here was what the small amounts of dissolved elements denoted...

If this blob was relatable to a cell, then the ‘dissolved resources’ were like its energy. Which depicted that the elements I needed from it were being distributed to all of its body on a regular basis. And since a regulatory system needed a precise resource distribution, all of these digested resources should come from somewhere.

A18, we might have hit the jackpot if my assumptions are correct!

My puddle is awesome!

Yes, praise me more!

...

Part 4: The way towards the blob's safe.

The crumbles were fundamentally clues for a treasure map.

In essence, there should be a place that worked as the blob’s storage!

A reserve where I can find the so-called unknown elements in bigger concentrations, and with it, I'll finally have the lacking resources to make MMs.

With this train of thought, I began to check on my superstitions.

Where did a cell store its energy? A mitochondria? Hm, I can’t remember it…

A18, any idea of how to find the place where the resources from the liquid come from?

My puddle, we can check on this tube's direction, the signals inside of it seem constant with almost no directional variation.

Hm, that's right this tube should be connected to the blob's battery if they are the distributors of resources.

Nice suggestion A18!

With an idea of what to do, my body made its way towards the upper side of the tube. Gravity didn't seem to play a big role inside the blob, yet my sensors could still show me my position.

As I drove with my rotatory propulsion-device, I finally got a closer glance at the walking machines. Within the countless bundled rods and interlaced pillars in the surroundings, many tiny machines moved. But in those, the movement was unidirectional with only one machine at a time passing through those small 'bridges'.

Instead, above this humongous tube, you had more space, and it worked both ways. Furthermore, many types of ‘gear machines’ advanced over it. The image was like a highway, where vehicles, people, and animals crowded towards their destination.

I noticed that they diverged in the way they toiled. A contrasting pattern for each, except they all looked like efficient workers. There were some that advanced like wheels, others were bipedal with human-like legs, some danced with odd spinning motions while advancing, and there were some that appeared like dogs walking on fours…

The one that attracted my attention was one I saw before. While sneaking near it, I saw that the filament it had for a body reached a bubble behind it. It was actually bigger when seeing it this closely and gave the sensation of a walking robot. Two coiled strings made its core, some unevenly spaced hinges giving it additional flexibility. A goblet like structure served as a supporting point for the giant balloon it carried over the column’s surface.

For movement, a switching gear structure with two clumsy and small appendages touched the ‘ground’. These appendages looked like feet and they glued the machine to the columns in a spinning pattern. It twisted and danced over the column in a repetitive cycle, yet it moved faster and efficiently than I had predicted.

Watching it being similar to my size made me stagger, as a big question assaulted me…

Was I actually smaller than I predicted before?

A weird feeling.

If the blob is a cell-like monster then what am I?

Never mind… I really should omit the non-solvable thoughts and leave them for later. It’s better to continue exploring and start connecting clues when I have a better concept.

...

The blob’s glowing interior was like a Christmas decorated street below a clear dark sky when seen from above the hollow tube’s surface. Even this ‘pavement’ below myself had so many features that I wished I could have gazed at it with colors.

If there was no other benefit than staggering scenarios inside the blob, my first thought would’ve been to ask for an exploration-leave and exit the insides of such a disgusting creature immediately.

But since my ‘contractor’ made me deduce ‘what a big chance’ this situation I’m in represents and that I could probably strike it rich by searching for a once in a lifetime opportunity… I decided to stay on the gamble-boat. I would follow the boat’s direction, get the needed treasure from it, and escape it before I make it hit the iceberg.

In the end, I created a new quest to make some motivation for my trip. These quests were not only for the thrill of gaming. They represented my organized thoughts, like when doing experiments. Just that sometimes I didn’t have the need to create them or complete them.

My puddle, the new quest has been created!

Thanks, A18.

NEW QUEST! ▁▂▃▄☾ ♛ ☆ ♛ ☽▄▃▂▁

Name:

Stealing Resources. Objectives: Explore the blob’s insides. Find a place with ‘treasure’ and steal it. Extra: Try to destroy the blob in the process. Description: You have saved your bum after being swallowed by a nasty poke-poke. After escaping from its deadly stomach, you found opportunity in the deadly occasion. The blob’s inside is a treasure trove filled with already digested resources.

It’s deducible that the blob might have a bigger storage with the needed elements in higher concentrations. In the end, you decided that it’d be a shame to leave the blob’s inside without settling the debt. Reward: Unknown things. ▁▂▃▄☾ ♛ ☆ ♛ ☽▄▃▂▁