: The plant fed on the iron and glucose in Aby's waste. To keep it alive, she was quite literally feeding it herself.

"It's getting heavy," Aby whispered. The sound of her labored breathing filled the recording. "The pod is swelling. It’s not just scrubbing the air anymore. It’s adapting. I think... I think it's making seeds. But they aren't seeds for plants."

The file was small, heavily corrupted, and buried in the telemetry of the derelict survey ship Eventide . When the salvage crew finally cracked the encryption, they didn't find navigation charts or mineral manifests. They found the log of Aby Sekara. 🥀 The Specimen

"If the atmosphere won't take us as we are," Aby's voice said, sounding strangely peaceful, "then we will change to fit the atmosphere. I am going to sleep now. Let's see what we grow into." 🛑 LOG ENDS