\n <\/p>\n
It took the last traces of Homo sapiens 10,000 desperate years to reach the semi-oxygenated rock orbiting Proxima Centauri. Widely known as a cosy bothy among the stars, it was a place where stellar ramblers in all their multitudes could pause and rest as they meandered the lightyears. They came in so many forms it took the humans a couple of decades to realize they weren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n
Take Gustari centralis. Best known in their mechanical state, a cluster resting at Proxima-b decided to adopt a mycelial form for a change. The humans breathed them in and breathed them out. Almost. Spores latched onto lungs nearly causing the human colony to collapse. Humanity fought back the only way they knew how. Doctor Indira Sharma led the effort, bombarding the unsuspecting Gustari with antibiotics until the Dishan intervened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour weapons are forbidden here,\u201d the Dishan envoy explained, deigning to use movable tongues for the first time in this instance\u2019s living memory.<\/p>\n
Indira dropped the tray of pills she was carrying. Nurse Dino Seeton crouched to sweep them up. Better that than stare at the eldritch thing that had suddenly materialized in the sickbay, its \u2018head\u2019 more beaks and squawks than anything else.<\/p>\n
Read more science fiction from Nature Futures<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Dishan envoy made some guttural pronouncements and the first of the bedridden patients stirred with hints of regained consciousness. \u201cThe Gustari will no longer trouble you. Please forgive them. They\u2019re a younger species. They probably misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Gustari?\u201d Indira asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the many rambling kind who frequent this stop,\u201d the Dishan explained. \u201cWe believe they mistook your bodies for part of the surrounding landscape and went about exploring. An unfortunate error now rectified. I\u2019ve told them to ask permission next time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch appreciated,\u201d Indira said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fungus was sentient?\u201d Dino asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, and most sophisticated, if you can appreciate true art.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how to ever thank you,\u201d Indira said. \u201cThat infection was a terrible setback, but otherwise this world is a miracle. Without it, humanity wouldn\u2019t have got another chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it\u2019s a lovely place to visit,\u201d the envoy agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cVisit? This is our new home,\u201d Dino said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t settle here.\u201d It took all the envoy\u2019s ambassadorial protocols to mask as much disgust as they did. \u201cIt\u2019s a bothy not\u2009\u2026 a homeworld.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d Indira said. \u201cI\u2019m unfamiliar with that alien term.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m speaking your language.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s not from my culture,\u201d Indira suggested. \u201cWe\u2019ve many where I\u2019m from.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dishan ignored the insult of the implied greater social complexity. Instead, they requested Indira\u2019s consent then mind-parasited with her. The two exchanged thoughts, lifetimes, whole perspectives. Indira departed the split-second encounter a changed woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t stay, Dino.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was like the fabled campgrounds of old Earth. Like the campgrounds if the commons hadn\u2019t been a tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one can,\u201d the envoy said, \u201cand remember when a species departs, they must leave this place unchanged to the best of their abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t stay? They must not understand.\u201d With heroic effort Dino turned to the Dishan and looked right into what must have been an eye. \u201cIt took everything we had to reach this planet. We\u2019ve exhausted all our resources. If we can\u2019t stay, then we and every species we brought from Earth will go extinct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Caaadadar tried staying once. Their privileges were revoked. A most unpleasant end for a civilization. If one could call what was the Caaadadar civilized.\u201d The envoy\u2019s humour was lost on Indira and Dino who until that afternoon had mistaken humanity for the only true intelligence in the lonely cosmos. \u201cSurely, you\u2019ve other places to go? There\u2019s so much to experience. This is but a convenient pitstop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, we\u2019re desperate,\u201d Indira said. \u201cOur whole ecology collapsed. This was a last-ditch effort to preserve our planet\u2019s lifeforms by finding a suitable new home around a nearby star.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean you travelled here organically?\u201d The envoy convulsed in horror. \u201cThe whole lot of you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It took the last traces of Homo sapiens 10,000 desperate years to reach the semi-oxygenated rock orbiting Proxima Centauri. Widely known as a cosy bothy among the stars, it was a place where stellar ramblers in all their multitudes could pause and rest as they meandered the lightyears. They came in so many forms it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[498,20135,3895],"class_list":{"0":"post-35856","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-among","9":"tag-bothy","10":"tag-stars"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}