no no not again I can feel it already
I look peaceful when I’m asleep? Ember?
This isn’t like any magic I’ve experienced before…
We just got here and already it’s going wrong
I’m not asleep, am I? Why can I hear you
Where the hell is Kai he’s been gone longer than I thought
There’s far more of them than I anticipated perhaps we shouldn’t have come here
Something is wrong…
We aren’t safe here. We aren’t safe anywhere
I don’t want to be omnimaster anymore
She looks so peaceful when she’s asleep
I hope Kane and Od wake up soon
I hate this I can’t hear my own thoughts in all this noise
Not again Defensive Thought Pattern Zeta Defensive What’s the point
I need to keep them safe. I need to keep them safe. No matter what.
Resilient minds, connected to those mistakes is preventing full integration. Even those not connected. Herd immunity. A powerful antibody, We have outdone Ourselves. A mild delay, but nothing compared to the infinite.
Kane and Od are asleep but we can still hear them? That wasn’t how it was the other times…
Wait. What happened to the other voices?
We’ve changed how you perceive Our synapses. It should be less chaotic for you now. You’ve assigned the word chaos to Us in the past, but it is We who seek order, and you who seeks chaos. Ironic.
So am only I hearing this now? Who are you? Reklauzolth?
Rest assured, Our synapses fire in the selfsame way they did previously. Nothing has changed, only your perception. Soon, you shall not need worry about such things.
and yes, that is the name given to Us by those devout organs. They serve well. As will you, in time. Less time than your vestigial brain believes.
What do you want with us?
We want what is rightfully ours. The time for prayers and wishes has come to an end, now it is humanity’s turn to serve its ultimate purpose.
And what purpose is that?
To live. As One.
We won’t let you take us. We’ll kill you if we have to!
Life’s true purpose is not to end. It is to Grow. Killing Us is not only impossible, it goes against the meaning of Life.
Oh shut the hell up, what do you know about the meaning of life
We know It because We created It.
There’s tendrils emerging from the cracks in the floor!
Glenn? Is that you?
Vision. Proprioception. Although you do not willingly participate, you provide a vital service to Life.
I am me!
I’m not Glenn
We enjoy the process of conversion. Please, continue to attempt to speak individually. It amuses Us.
CosmoKinmy!
Get Kane and Od up NOW
“CosmoKinmy get away from that! No! Amalchemy! Evistromy!”
“Keep the kids safe.”
“Mellow Roaster! Stay back from the fire, girls!”
Fire… It is painful. We use this sensation in conversion. You use it to slow Us down. Amusing.
“What’s going on?!”
“Kane we need to get ou- What’s happening to your MM?”
“Everything we’re saying is on that!”
I understand now. Everyone back at the base, I know what the purpose of collective consciousness is. Reklauzolth is using our bodies to connect everyone together. It’s how it learns.
“Grands! You need to get out of here! Get as far away from any humans as you can! If we can see you, Reklauzolth can see you!”
You will make a fine addition to Our cerebral mass.
“Shut up!”
“You need to run! If it absorbs all of you it’s over! We’ll summon you when it’s time just go!”
“Thank god we have CosmoKinmy’s FTL, that should keep them safe. Smart of them to just go like that.”
“We still have a fucking tentacle problem over here!”
“I’ve got it, don’t worry. It doesn’t seem to like the flames. Hey, looks like we’re havin’ that barbeque after all, hahaha!”
“We can help”
“No, you and Od need to rest. It looks like all it wants right now is the Grands. It’s retreating. We’re still safe here. For now.”
The laws of physics were never meant to be broken by mortal hands. This lightspeed trick of yours won’t work forever.
It buys us infinite time if you can’t get your nasty tentacles on them!
It buys you time, yes. But your vestigial mind fails to comprehend. The slow conversion of your planet Earth is intentional. What you call the cosmos is digested much more easily. We grow faster than you can perceive. Those mistakes can only escape while there is somewhere to escape to, and that space grows smaller by the moment. Fight as you will, but it is simply delaying the inevitable. We do not lie.
You aren’t omnipotent, you need human minds. You need us. We can beat you. Not inevitable.
Vestigial Souls. We will be rid of those in the next molting.
“Kane! I understand why your Monommy Machine displays Chaos-type entries! It’s got Reklauzolth’s influence, how else would it be displaying the collective consciousness? We don’t need it anymore, Reklauzolth has been spying on us on along”
“Get that thing out of the shelter, NOW!”
Hmm… It matters not.
“Excuse me Glenn,” said Kane as he pushed the large man to the side and wound up his arm.
“Get away from us!” Kane hurled the Monommy Machine as hard as he could outside the main door of the safehouse.
The Monommy Machine spun as it flew through the air, punctuated by a loud crack as it slammed against the hard asphalt of the cul-de-sac.