The Station, Part 36

The new fingers are flexible now. Not very strong yet, but I don’t think for long. The sensation of having six fingers on each hand; it’s not right yet. My hands are uncoordinated. My brain is unused to the choreography of one to many digits. I’m going to have to get over that. They’re perhaps my most important possessions right now. As for my feet…well, the absence of one toe hasn’t hampered my ability to walk.

As I’ve been nearing the mountains, the terrain has taken to an incline. Not too steep, but perceptible enough to where I feel its strain. The vegetation has been changing as well. Instead of the grasses of the savanna, I have been encountering more greenery. Shrubs, short trees and the like. That means more water. There must be some nearby. I haven’t had a decent drink of water in at least two days. The onion water has kept me going, but it’s the kind of taste you put up with only when you have exhausted all other options. It will be good to have choices again. The temperature has dropped somewhat as well. It has never been truly that hot, nor has it done the damage to my skin that a normal sky and sun would have done. So that means I was right about the ultraviolet radiation. I have no sign of sunburn. I’m thankful for that. On the flip side of that, I wonder how the absence of that factor has affected the life here. On every planet, radiation is a constant; just a matter of degree as to its severity. But here, this place is almost idyllic. Other than the Australopithecines, I have seen herds of animals from a distance. Antelope by my guess. Some large giraffe like creatures that were just too far way for me to properly identify as well. But I’m sure that it too was formally a species of Earth origins, just like the rest of them. If any other large mammals such as predators or other form of animal carnivorous life was here, it has remained curiously hidden. The grasses are tall, and creatures such as lions, jackals and hyenas, as large as are, would have no trouble keeping out of sight. But that may not be the case at all. Of all the animal species I have encountered in this particular chamber, none of them have survived into the modern era back home. I would guess that goes for the smallest creatures such as birds and insects as well. Especially the insects. As thorough as the fossil record has become, we still have but a fraction of that order’s full catalog in labs and museums.

Enough with the ecological analysis. There’s more immediate and important concerns at the moment. Namely the water problem. There are none of those onion-like roots here. But water can’t be much further ahead. Just have to keep going. I’m seeing more examples of that otherwise extinct animal life. Some kind of small primates have been following my progress. I mostly just hear their chattering among the ever denser tree line. Every so often I see the flick of a tail or an arm reaching for a branch. But then one will leap from one tree to another, only to be quickly followed by other members of the troop. The leader is the one in front I suppose. But when they do reveal themselves, they are no species of monkey I have ever seen. Their shape is somewhat familiar, like a langur or macaque. Perhaps it’s a representative of the Mesopithecus family. Just one more tidbit of information I shouldn’t have, but there it is. They are indeed shy, but their curiosity is getting the better of them. After all, how many opportunities do these little beings have to see a human being? But then is that what I truly am anymore? I am something even other human beings have never seen before. Would you recognize me as one of your own?