The next day, the roots started moving.
It began with a sound — soft and wet — like something stretching beneath the floor.
Kai woke before the others. He was already sitting up, coat around his shoulders, scanning the old chamber again. Lina and Marra were still asleep, curled against a wall of stacked panels.
At first, he thought it was just the station settling. A groan in the walls. Pipes cooling.
But then he saw it.
One of the thick, dark roots near the corner of the room had shifted.
He stood up and walked slowly toward it.
The roots had been there since they arrived — twisted black cords that broke through the tiles and grew like veins along the floor. They looked dry. Lifeless. But they weren't.
Now they pulsed.
Faintly.
Slow and steady, like a heartbeat buried deep in the ground.
He crouched and touched one with the tip of his fingers.
A system alert blinked instantly in his vision.
[Unknown Biomass Detected – Linked to Seed Collapse Activity]
[Organic Network Status: Passive]
[Warning: Data Contamination Risk – Observation Mode Recommended]
He pulled his hand back.
"What are you?" he whispered.
The root didn't move again. But it had felt warm.
Alive.
Lina stirred behind him. "Kai…?"
He turned and stood quickly. "It's okay. Just checking something."
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "You're always checking things."
He smiled faintly. "Someone has to."
She walked over and looked at the floor. "Those weren't like that before."
"I know."
Marra joined them a few minutes later. She saw the roots and frowned.
"They're growing," she said.
Kai nodded. "I think they're attracted to Seed energy. Or maybe feeding on it."
"Like a fungus?" Lina asked.
"Maybe," he said. "But smarter."
Marra tilted her head. "You think they're alive?"
"I think they remember."
He crouched beside a cracked floor plate where several of the roots met. The metal was bent slightly upward, pushed by the growth below.
Kai activated his Architect Vision.
The roots glowed faint green in his sight — the same color the sky had turned before the threads fell. The same slow pulse. The same strange energy.
[Biopath Network Detected – Subterranean Spread Radius: 213m]
[Function: Unknown. Behavior Pattern: Reactive]
[Potential Origin: Terraforming Interference or Artificial Mutation]
Terraforming.
The word echoed in his head.
That meant human tech… or alien.
He reached toward the roots again, but this time didn't touch.
"Can you hear me?" he whispered. "Do you… understand?"
There was no answer.
But the roots pulsed again.
And this time, a new screen appeared.
[Seed Fragment Absorbed – Unknown Pathway Triggered]
[Trait Trace: "Memory Bark" – Storage Node Signature Detected]
[Do you wish to view the memory imprint?]
Kai froze.
He looked at Lina and Marra.
They were waiting.
He said, "Yes."
The room darkened in his vision. Not for real. Just in his head.
Then something strange happened.
He saw a memory.
Not his.
A woman — standing in a long hallway lined with glass tubes. Each one held a person inside. Sleeping. Unmoving. Their Seeds glowing faintly in their chests. She walked past each one, touching the glass.
And the walls behind her were covered in the same roots.
They pulsed as she passed.
One of the tubes cracked.
She turned. Raised her hand.
White light burst from her fingers.
Then it ended.
[Imprint Ends – Fragment Incomplete]
[Data Saved – Memory Bark Node 1/7]
Kai swayed slightly.
Lina reached for him. "You okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Just… saw something."
"Was it scary?" she asked.
"Not yet," he said. "But it might be soon."
Marra looked at the roots. "They're connected to memories?"
"I think they store them. Or carry them. From people who died nearby. Especially people with strong Seeds."
"That's creepy."
"It is," Kai said. "But it's also useful."
He stood and took a step back.
"These things… they might be watching. But they're also recording."
Lina shivered. "So they saw everything that happened up there?"
"Maybe."
Marra crossed her arms. "Then we should burn them."
Kai didn't answer right away.
Because part of him agreed.
But another part saw something else.
Opportunity.
If these roots were connected to memories, they might also be connected to knowledge.
Seeds. Technologies. Traits.
And Kai had a tool no one else did.
He stepped closer to the roots again.
"I don't think they're hostile," he said. "They're curious. They grow near strong signals. They grow toward pain."
"Like they feed on it?"
"No," he said. "Like they want to remember it."
He looked at Lina.
"Let's map the root network. See where it leads. If there's a main node, I want to find it."
Lina frowned. "You sure that's a good idea?"
"No," he admitted. "But it might be the only way to understand what happened during the first collapse."
Marra gave a small shrug. "Lead the way, Architect."
Kai walked to the door and picked up his bag. The system blinked again in the corner of his vision.
[Memory Pathway Activated – Route Mapping Initialized]
[Next Root Node: 86m Northeast – Sector Tunnels]
He pulled his coat tighter and turned to the others.
"Let's find out what the roots remember."