Imposter System

"Did you get new information?"

"I asked around about the situation after my promotion. Apparently, you did something to anger someone called Shephard. However, they don't seem to be after your life, only cause you trouble. But if you keep pushing… I am worried."

Matt was certain that Shephard was the one involved with the information he gathered, but hearing the confirmation really upset him. He cursed Shephard inwardly. Matt hadn't done anything all that remarkable since arriving, so he blamed the host. Matt O'Connely must have done something to piss off whoever this Shephard was. He left the bathroom after giving Alexis a nod and turned Perfect Mimicry on for the first time in a while.

While mimicry was on, he sifted through the memories of the month before he took over. Unfortunately, there was nothing that stood out. He remained sitting and pondering going further and further back but simply could not remember anything specific. Since that was the case, it was something that he wasn't aware of and didn't remember. Often times someone will do something that they see as ordinary but it could be a big deal to someone else.

Once Alexis finished washing, Matt jumped in to clean as well. She didn't push him to cancel her investigation, but tried her best to deter him. She didn't stick around and went straight to her post. When Matt finished cleaning, he prepared to head over to Dr. Bradshaw's lab. He had still not seen Martha since the lab reopened and wanted to confirm his theory. If he could snatch a few free evolution points, he wouldn't be opposed.

When Matt arrived, no one was in the lab. The door was unlocked and there seemed to be instruments and glassware on the counter so he assumed that Bradshaw must have just stepped out. Matt walked over to the specimen room and peeked through the small viewing window. He saw Martha had grown far more robust than before.

Previously, its vine-like branches spread along the ceiling and its main stems grew along the whole back area. The center which contained the strange membrane was larger and contained larger and sturdier leaves. When he stepped inside, the plant shook in recognition. This wasn't just an illusion anymore. Matt could clearly recognize that Martha was responding to the stimulus of his existence.

{Do you understand me?}

Matt sent a whisper toward the large membrane. He noticed the leaves suddenly enclose to protect the center, but noticing that there was no harm, it loosened. Matt thought this was a strange reaction and tried again.

{Shake once for yes and twice for no.}

Martha covered up its nucleus again before relaxing. Just when Matt thought it wasn't working, Martha shook all of its branches once. Although Matt was convinced that Martha had already reached a stage of intelligence, being able to understand language was a sign of sentience. This meant that Martha was officially protected by the Sentient Beings Protection Act.

In case of successful discovery of friendly sentient life, all space explorers were not allowed to perform acts of aggression that would take away the beings' rights. This was a very controversial policy, but it was a very important one. Matt began to converse with Martha to determine its mental state.

{Do you feel trapped?}

Two shakes. No.

{Do you feel pain?}

One shake. Yes.

{Does cutting your branches hurt?}

Two shakes. No.

{Does touching your brain hurt?}

Ten shakes. Seems like a resounding yes.

{Sorry for hurting you.}

No reply.

{Are you afraid of me?}

One shake. Yes.

{Because I hurt you?}

Two shakes. No.

{Because I study you?}

Two shakes. No.

Matt pondered for a little bit. Then he seemed to have an idea.

{Because I ate you?}

One shake. Yes.

{I won't do it again.}

Matt seemed to understand the mental state of Martha a lot more. From the perspective of a plant, having a large room like this to grow with free nutrients was bliss. Matt walked closer to Martha but it didn't cover itself in fear. The conversation they had seemed to calm it down. When he appeared next to the membrane, Martha opened its leaves to show the whole nucleus. Matt bet that Dr. Bradshaw hadn't even seen this.

Inside the nucleus was a dark shadow of something. It was deep and near the bottom, so it couldn't be seen normally. Something was growing inside this large sack. Matt reached forward slowly and Martha shuddered a little but let him touch. He placed his hand on the surface of the sack and felt a rhythmic pulse inside. He pulled back and Martha quickly covered up again.

Just as Matt stepped back, he heard a swish and Dr. Bradshaw stepped inside.

"Dr. O'Connely, it's good there you're here. Come to the table, I wish to show you something."

Matt followed him to the main area and Dr. Bradshaw pointed to a microscope. Matt checked the slide and it seemed to be a thin slice of a plant. He looked under the microscope and saw several plant cells in the middle of duplication. This was the normal process for a plant to keep growing. Since this was a slice, these cells died and were frozen in their last state. However, as he panned around the slide he didn't see a single cell not duplicating.

"Every single cell is undergoing mitosis? That is highly unlikely from any single slice…"

"Every slice I've taken of the plants in the other lab were in a state of constant mitosis."

"But how are they getting enough energy to grow endlessly…"

Matt had perfect mimicry on so that he didn't need to fake his knowledge. However, he was quite impressed listening to this. He knew a fair bit of biology and this was really fascinating to him. That's when the idea popped up of where the energy could be coming from. In the game, there were items you could buy that removed or prevented radiation sickness. However, Matt hadn't seen any radiation since being here. Perhaps it just hadn't started yet…

"Dr. Bradshaw, we may have a major issue… Computer, can you do a full radiation sweep of the ship?"

[Sorry, Dr. O'Connely, you do not have the permission to order that.]

"Can you check the levels in the biology labs at least?"

[Affirmative. Scans will take twenty-one minutes.]

"Dr. O'Connely, you think the plants are harnessing the background radiation to grow? Brilliant."

"It won't be too difficult to determine that. However, I fear that there is more to it than just that."

"What do you mean?"

"What if the plants are creating their own nuclear bioreactor?"

"That's improbable…"

Although he said that, he had a very worried look. Matt recognized that he was feeling guilty—and scared. Whatever he did to make those plants grow was causing this phenomenon. Dr. Bradshaw excused himself to his private office. Twenty minutes later, the alarms started ringing.

[Warning, Warning. All Science personnel evacuate biology labs three, four, seven, eight, nine, ten, and twenty-one. Dangerous levels of radiation have been detected… Warning, Warning…]

The message continued to repeat. Dr. Bradshaw left his office with a damp collar and pale face. He quickly left the lab without even taking a second glance at Matt. However, he left his door open. Matt didn't want to lose this opportunity and secretly slipped into the office. He began to rummage through his cabinets and found a locked cabinet. However, the keys were sitting on the desk.

When he opened them, he took out various books that were labeled Martha one through four. He opened the first one on a random page and saw the process of growth. Apparently, he was feeding it dissolved radioactive isotopes. Since the readers showed no signs of radiation, he thought it would be safe. There were too many manuals to read before hazmat came by to sweep the lab. If he was caught in here, he would be taken to quarantine.

Matt took as many pictures starting from the fourth book and went backwards. After ten minutes he managed to record books four, three and half of two. However, this was the limit he placed for himself. He quickly made his way to the exit, and then had a strange feeling. He turned to the specimen room and walked over. Matt opened the door and felt the intense heat radiating from Martha. It seems that Martha heard the announcement too and was trying to make an effort to do something.

The radiation coming from Martha was intense, but he felt his body resisting it. He was happy to have gotten Toxin Resistance when he did. Martha noticed Matt enter the room and began shaking its leaves. Matt approached the nucleus and saw it begin to split into four like a flower blooming. When the nucleus split, liquid spilled out. At the bottom was a green cat-like creature. The back of its head had a vine growing out of it into the base of the plant.

{Is that you, Martha?}