Jingex was feeling their age. Over the previous 10 or 15 yahn cycles, they’d grown and grown and grown, till they had been not spry and youthful: inclined extra in direction of reclining and enjoyable than striding out and exploring. It’s what occurred, they knew, when their individuals had been uncovered to a lifetime of abundance. They bought greater, contented and sluggish. It was within the genes to increase. Besides, it wasn’t what Jingex wished. Not all that many cycles in the past, they’d danced over mountaintops, wave-skimmed the inland seas and rolled with out care on grassy slopes.
The growth had began with their mind. From the time their species started rising as dominant on their planet, it was the mind that was first to increase — slowly, to start with, because it gained data and expertise, then extra quickly as its capabilities mounted. Different species expanded otherwise, however for Jingex’s species it at all times began with the mind. Which was how their ancestors managed not simply to outlive however to thrive in a world during which different species had been stronger, greater, sooner and hellbent on consuming something they might catch.
Later, the identical course of allowed their brains to increase as they absorbed data from any supply, whether or not it’s the mundane abilities of regular life or the extraordinary joys of mountain dancing, ocean skimming and grassy rolling.
In historical occasions, that was essential to survival. Every time one in every of Jingex’s ancestors didn’t get eaten, its mind grew and it turned smarter and more proficient at not getting eaten. Even now, it was nonetheless helpful, as a result of even with the traditional predators vanquished, greater brains had been key to avoiding low-skilled jobs during which life was low cost and labour cheaper.
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Like all these on their planet, Jingex’s species reproduced by fragmentation. Some did so by permitting themselves to be hacked into bits by something from a predator to a farmer’s fragmentator, which chopped remnants of this yr’s crop into rootlings for subsequent yr’s planting. Some did it by budding, during which the dad or mum cut up off a mess of tiny fragments. For others, it was larger-scale fission, during which the offspring had been fewer however bigger, every retaining a portion of the dad or mum’s identification — together with, within the case of Jingex’s species, a fraction of its mind.
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Fifteen yahn cycles in the past, Jingex had massed a svelte 125 kliptos. Now, they had been approaching 215.
Within the outdated days, that will have made them too sluggish to evade predators successfully, irrespective of how sensible and sensible that they had change into. At present, it opened alternatives unknown even a few hectocycles in the past.
Jingex had chosen to pursue research within the physics of interstitial dynamics — a potential gateway to interstellar and maybe even intergalactic journey. Alongside the way in which, that they had encountered senior researchers who had continued to increase, generally to as a lot as 650 kliptos. With brains to match, they had been super-geniuses … however they might not presumably climb mountains, skim throughout waves or roll down grassy slopes with any hope of controlling the place they wound up. Not that any of them cared about such pursuits. They’d moved to realms of more and more mental actions.
There was, nevertheless, a restrict. Ultimately, their our bodies would attain some extent at which replication was not possible to delay.
Palaeoantiquarian analysis confirmed that in historical occasions, this occurred at someplace near Jingex’s youthful 125 kliptos. That was optimum, apparently, for beating off the traditional carnivores however far too low for a world during which the carnivores had been changed by predators specializing within the politics of office, market and tutorial competitors.
The change occurred slowly sufficient that evolution had time to play a job, though science performed an excellent greater one as high-status members of Jingex’s species sought more and more highly effective contrareplicative drugs to delay their our bodies — and brains — breaking into fragments to provide the following era of start-over-from-the-beginning offspring. “That’s adequate for a plant, however clever beings want one thing higher,” a super-high-brained thinker named Ixpahu mentioned, shortly earlier than their meds failed and their physique fragmented into 24 youngsters, solely 3 of which had the brainpower to make it by their first cycle.
However procrastination wasn’t the one choice. Different, usually controversial, medication restricted the variety of fragments and managed their measurement, making it potential to separate into as few as two fragments, with one retaining the overwhelming majority of the brainpower and the opposite extra helpless than any of Ixpahu’s fragments. There have been additionally ones that would make the smaller fragment so tiny it was nonviable. When you did that always sufficient, you possibly can maintain your important fragment’s mass just under the extent that led to Ixpahu’s demise, permitting you to retain your present standing (and reminiscences) just about without end.
None of this was what Jingex wished. Sure, they beloved the mysteries and pleasure of interstitial dynamics. However they hated the way in which their life had contracted into nothing else, as a result of, nevertheless thrilling the prospects for with the ability to journey to the celebrities, they didn’t need it to be the one factor they did. They usually missed the mountaintops, particularly that one uncommon magical evening, once they danced within the gentle of the triplet moons to the silent tune of the summer season borealis.
Jingex thought of it for 3 cycles, as their mass expanded from 215 kliptos to 220, 230 and 245. Then, they made their choice. They resigned their analysis place, stopped taking their contrareplicants, and targeted on discovering the correct medication for one thing no person they knew had ever completed earlier than: a managed fission during which, as a substitute of manufacturing a big dad or mum and a number of small offspring, every would get the identical quantity.
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Restoration from replication takes a number of decicyles, however shortly afterwards, there have been two Jingexes. Neither had the brainpower for interstitial dynamics, though every remembered the thrill of working in direction of the celebrities. Perhaps one, or each would do it once more.
In the meantime, there have been mountaintops beckoning for dancing, waves ready to be skimmed and grassy slopes begging to be rolled.
