I could have called this account “Bad Things that Happen to First-Year Fleet Officers Who Think They Are Going To Tiptoe Through the Tulips Across the Galaxy” … but that wasn't specific enough.
I write this at the request of Admiral G.F. Florence of the fleet's medical core, who is sick and tired of approving certain medical procedures for certain young officers who just aren't paying attention despite all the training they have gotten at the Academy.
The above creature, at first glance, looks like all the beautiful flowers that remind homesick human officers of the violets of our dear Earth – it is native to the Indara System but also has found its way to three of the systems nearby, all of which contain M-class planets of a similar atmospheric and terrestrial composition, and all of which have grasslands in abundance that you will find this beautiful creature in.
The most natural thing for some young officer with her guard down is to pick it, or with his guard down but trying to impress a female crew mate.
We teach at the Academy, over and over and over again, that things that come naturally on Earth – because Earth was made for mankind – are not good ideas elsewhere in the galaxy.
Look at a slightly different color variation of the above creature … do you ever feel like you're being watched?
With a different color contrast … ever feel the pressure of countless eyes on you?
And then, once you have seen all of that, you realize this is a whole terrified creature looking at you with other terrified creatures on board …
… actually, this is the mother and babies of the Pick-Me-Not Flower Mimic insect, more similar to a bombardier beetle than any plant of Earth, using camouflage to get through the grasslands and not be eaten by large birds. The colors change on the creature with the seasons and colors of the grass.
If you were a bee, the babies would provide you a few drops of sugar water for a visit.
Your hand, however, in picking up this creature, would be covered by the panicked mother and babies with their full load of hydrochloric acid.
For reference: the human body produces hydrochloric acid in digestion of meats.
This is why Admiral G.F. Florence is sick and tired of approving bionic hands for first-year officers who keep going to the Indara System and its surroundings and forgetting the rules.
No tiptoeing through the tulips where tulips don't grow, and keep your hands to yourself.
This fractal in Apophysis 2.09 took me through the same mildly disturbing journey I just took YOU through ... at first, I thought I had a pretty plant, but then, a slight change of palette more clearly showed me the suggestion of faces ... and on it went until I had a whole terrified being who wants YOU to know, "Please DON'T PICK ME!"
I love the artwork AND the story! Good job!
Thank you!