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Contains more of the usual weirdness.

Setsuna woke up with a start, sweating and uneasy. She was alone in her room, back on Earth. "Bad dream again?", the familiar voice of Setsuna's former commander Xi asked on the intercom. "That's the weird thing. This one didn't feel like a dream at all. I felt like I was seeing someone's memories, through their eyes. Or perhaps, idealized memories. I did not recognize the plant this time," Setsuna commented. "It was just a dream." Then she looked at the date on the wall calendar, "Oh no. The interview."

Hours later, the light of the interview room blinded Setsuna. "Look, I have already told you everything. I know. There's nothing new to add to the official record," Setsuna protested. "I'm the Chief Investigator appointed by the President of Titan to study any and all potential threats to our world, including non-human ones. I have been given broad powers by her," Yvonne declared. "Oh great, yet another investigator from yet ANOTHER world. How many more? Don't you guys share your intelligence with each other?", Setsuna threw up her hands in annoyance.

"Why don't you her leave the hell alone?", a voice said from the darkness. Slowly, out of the shadows, a face like Setsuna's....yet not, came into view. Then so did the rest of her. Yvonne raised an eyebrow, "Well, well, if isn't the other Setsuna. Her plant duplicate." Copy-Setsuna crossed her arms, and glared softly at her, "And you're the pain in the ass. When does this end for her? You people interrogated ME less than you did her. I refuse to believe you're simply doing this for security. This is harassment. I want you to leave Setsuna alone. She does not deserve this. She's given you interview after interview, report after report. End this ridiculous farce."

Yvonne looked out the window, "I believe the events of the planet set in motion other, less dramatic ones. You really think word didn't get out about the planet, in spite of our best efforts? Things are going to escalate. And we need to be prepared."

Setsuna shook her head, "I think you're just being paranoid. That planet's been quarantined. Nothing is getting off it. It's been quarantined now for some time." Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "I think you should go, Yvonne." Yvonne replied, "This isn't the end of it." When Yvonne left, Copy-Setsuna turned to Setsuna. "You've been different lately. Is there something you're not telling me?", Copy-Setsuna asked Setsuna. "I'll tell you soon enough," Setsuna reassured her. "You don't have to hide things from me. It's been long enough since the incident that you can trust me. It's been 2 years," Copy-Setsuna pressed. "Patience," Setsuna replied. Copy-Setsuna signed, "Alright. I will wait. But I must ask, are you okay?" Setsuna smirked, "Yeah Setsuna. And you really should pick a name for yourself. A name picked by you and not just given to you by memory. It will help you become your own person more." Copy-Setsuna laughed, "That's a bit difficult when you're a duplicate. Oh sure I don't look exactly like you because of the randomness of even identical genes combining, but my memories are identical to yours aside from the new ones I've gotten over 2 years. I don't think I'm ready to branch off from you yet, not fully." Setsuna chuckled, "Well don't you go saying stuff about living in my shadow. You know I've encouraged you to chart your own path."

Not long after this, Setsuna decided to seek out Kelly. She figured she was the only one she could really trust with this issue nagging her. After all, she'd been the recon individual on the mysterious world with her. It took a bit of time, but she finally tracked her down on a backwater planet. She flew her usual vessel: a custom Survey Corps light craft. To her surprise, Kelly was about 400 pounds in size. She barely fit into her casual clothing.

"Leaving the Corps has cost you your waistline. Retirement has defeated you," Setsuna playfully teased Kelly. Kelly snickered, "Is it really a shock that encountering a bunch of strange plants would leave a mark on me? It's rather hard to go back to normality after that level of hedonism. We all have ended up rather.....odd after this. I know about the others. A professional feedee, a dominatrix, a porn writer....none of us have been the same after our experience. We opened Pandora's Box on that planet." Setsuna mused, "And you gave into your latent urge to profit over your discoveries, based on the messages we've exchanged over the years." Kelly quickly spoke up, "I filled out all the required paperwork and submitted it to Titan. I got approval, surprisingly fast. And I had all the data to accurately reproduce the fattening plant sap. You know I'm a competent researcher."

Setsuna signed, "I can't say I approve, exactly. But.....considering we all went through the same experience and returned dramatically different.....I do understand why you're doing it." Kelly exhaled, "We are the sum of the slings and arrows hurled at us. We all cope in our own way." Then she smiled, "But, you didn't come here to ponder the past, I think. Why are you here?" Setsuna looked around then whispered, "I'm thinking about going back to the planet." Kelly paused for a very long time, then finally answered, "Why?" Setsuna replied, "Because I think I'm meant to." For several minutes, Kelly silently contemplated what Setsuna had told her. Finally she gave her answer.

"Look, my advice is, if you really want to go back.....you should. The planet is quarantined, but you could test the waters," Kelly said to her. "You really think I should take the risk?", Setsuna asked. Kelly signed, "You're not the only one tempted to go back. There is a small part of me that misses being truly wild. Why do you think I went out of my way to synthesize a version of the plant sap, based on the data from the planet?" Setsuna rolled her eyes, "Don't pretend greed wasn't a factor. You were a sneaky little profiteer from the beginning, even before you joined the survey corps." Kelly smirked, "None of us are completely noble, in our motivations. But I haven't offered the sap to anyone who wasn't interested. Did you know ever since our little adventure, I haven't gone a day without being asked about my experience? It turns out there are a lot of misguided women who think what happened to us was some kind of foreshadowing. I will say this, there is no way in hell word of this just spread through normal rumor....not this fast. There is method behind this madness. Somebody is going out of their way to make sure a lot of people know what happened to us. But I have no intention of prying. I've seen enough movies about conspiracies to know better than to ask too many questions."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "It is suspicious, to say the least. There have been occasions...where I feel like I'm being watched, or followed." Kelly teased, "Maybe it's the Pod-People trying to get us!" Setsuna groaned in annoyance, "I think after 2 years, they would have gotten us by now, if they were. That reminds me, do you keep in touch with the other you?" Kelly nodded, "I do. She's a fiery one, like yours. But we do get along." Kelly mused, "Getting back on track, there is something going on though." A voice said, "Maybe it's little green men from Mars." A mischievous-looking woman, clad in a Colonial Survey Corps uniform, sat down next to them. Kelly pointed with a laugh, "Look out Setsuna, it's one of them. She's a pod-person! They're coming to get you Setsuna! It's a plant!" The stranger giggled, "I wish. I'm Alexa. You two inspired me to join the organization." Kelly rolled her eyes, "I am not telling another person the story of what happened to me, not today. Why don't you talk to my duplicate or something?"

Alexa smiled, "Actually I'm in training to become a mechanic. I would like to do some free maintainence on your vessel. That way I can smuggle dangerous pods aboard your vessel and replace you both." Setsuna laughed, "Nice try, but I scanned you already. You're human. And I checked your credentials too. You are indeed a mechanic." She held up her standard Survey Corps scanner for emphasis. "Benefits of technology. You can analyze data fast these days," Setsuna smirked. Alexa grinned, "I know, I know. I just couldn't resist a little fun. Never could. You two are my heroes." Setsuna shook her head, "Just go do the repairs. I do have a few minor issues on my vessel to get fixed. Also I want to do some drinking anyway. I don't want to sound rude or anything. I'm just having classic existential angst." Alexa giggled, "That's fine. I need to go to work on my diabolical plan anyway." Kelly groaned, "Just don't do a villain monologue."

3 years later, she finally made her decision in deep space....and set her course to return to the planet. She thinks, "I can't help it, I have to know. I want the full experience this time. Not a half-measure." Her copy is in the co-pilot's seat, "I thought we talked about you going on a diet." There was no question Setsuna was obese, compared to her thin duplicate. Her entire body had filled out at 400 pounds.
She shook her head, "I've come to enjoy gluttony. I guess being on that planet rubbed off on me even more than I realized." In the ship's cabin was a third individual. "And you are?", Setsuna asked her. "I'm her lover. Michelle's the name," the woman answered. "How much does she know?", Setsuna asked her duplicate. Michelle answered, "I know everything. She trusts me."

"So, you decided to act on my buried urges?", the Botanist asked her duplicate. Copy-Setsuna shook her head, "Like I said, I'm not an exact copy of you. My impression of you is that you're a big closet case. But you've always had a predisposition towards a state of oversexualization. You reigned it in early in your life, to focus on your career. I didn't. It doesn't make me better than you. I just picked a different path from you. I settled on a world of hedonism, in contrast to your comparatively repressed planet. To be blunt, you are a closet nymphomaniac. And to me, that life didn't sound fun. I see no reason to deny my urges at the expense of career." Setsuna looked pained, "Look, do people take scientists with libidos seriously? Female scientists aren't supposed to want sex. We're supposed to be clinical and composed, objective as hell. We both made our choices in life."

The copy then asked, "Sister, do you really want to do this? Go back to where it happened? Are you prepared?" She looked at her copy, "I've had many years to think about it, and the truth is....when all is said and done.......I loved what happened to me. It was the most phenomenal experience of my life, by far. I can't compare it to anything else. And I want more." The copy says, "You do know the transformation will be much more thorough this time? That your genes will be heavily altered, and you will keep those changes for life? That with changes this intimate, your own immune system will be converted? I know a lot of this stuff because innate knowledge from creation. I mean sure you'll be able to change back and forth at will, but it's not fast like the movies. It'll probably be like a week to return to human form. Even normal, those changes will be dormant inside you forever. I'm both a plant and my field is studying nature, and even I can't predict what will happen exactly."

The botanist smiled, "De facto Sister, I'm a botanist. What's more exciting to a botanist than to actually experience things....from a plant's perspective?" Copy-Setsuna asked, "Are you sure this isn't just your sexual repression doing the talking? Your desire for liberation from your disciplined existence?" Setsuna shrugged, "I can't say with any certainty, but the point is.....I know I need this." The copy signed, "I swear, as a copy of humans and especially as a duplicate of you, I do not understand people." She couldn't help but smile, "But....I can't help but enjoy your company. Let's boldly go to where we've already been before." Setsuna rolled her eyes, "Setting a course."

Soon they arrived in orbit around the planet. "Commencing scan of the world. Odd. Oxygen levels have definitely increased, same with carbon dioxide. Lifeform readings are a lot higher now," the Copy-Botanist said as she started to analyze the findings. "Why didn't we detect this earlier?", Setsuna inquired. Michelle spoke up, "There's a dampening field in place. It's very, very well-hidden but the old training never goes away." Copy-Setsuna was definitely uneasy now. Setsuna asked, "I have to inquire. If your creators were so smart and caring, how come they didn't think about my state of mind when they transformed me?"

Copy-Setsuna said, "Because that's not how they thought. They think purely in biochemical terms. Psychology, to them, would be the laughable imposition of an ancient time's repressed sexuality on modernity. That's why your body was permanently changed to compensate for both stress and to make sure you could handle obesity. Anything that leaves a biochemical affect, they understood. But that's also part of why they made us. Thanks to our creation, psychology is now fully grasped by a plant-based lifeform. Just because you don't agree with a way of seeing the world, doesn't mean it's not important to understand it anyway." Then Copy-Setsuna suddenly raised an eyebrow, "That's odd. There are multiple ships already on the planet." Setsuna nodded, "That is odd for sure. Where are the three quarantine ships? I remember the ships from the headlines. Small, both in crew and size....but absurdly powerful in weaponry. Top of the line. I know two of the captains. We were in the same boarding school."

Copy-Setsuna smirked, "Planning on using your celebrity and personal connections to get past quarantine? Well that's not exactly upstanding scientist behavior." Copy-Setsuna then said, "Wait, I found one. It's slightly out of its projected orbit. Looks like they're hailing us. Message reads as we are clear to proceed." Setsuna then scanned the world some more, "We're far from the only ship that's landed. I'm reading a ton of vessels on the planet....and a high-level dampening secondary field. No wonder our sensors were fooled. Both the atmosphere and surface are being shielded from sensors. Unless you're at point-blank range to the planet like we are, one would never know there was a virtual committee of ships landed there. Someone's up to something." Copy-Setsuna and Setsuna both looked at each other. "Are...any of those ships armed?", Setsuna asked.

Copy-Setsuna replied, "Some. But they're all in full shutdown mode. If they've scanned us, and I have no doubt they have, they're not alarmed by our presence. Maybe because I'm with you." Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "Let's find out just what is going on." Copy-Setsuna then asked her firmly, "Do you trust me?" Setsuna nodded, "I know you better than anyone. I do." Then she speculated out loud, "It seems, perhaps, word got out more than expected."

Copy-Setsuna nodded, "That does make sense. The universe is a very troubled place, full of disillusionment. This planet would be like a magnet for lost souls. And with the sheer number of human-settled worlds, there would be a lot of them. Even if a small percentage of each world came here, collectively, it adds up to a big number." She turned to her lover, "I don't want you going with us, okay? It could be dangerous sweetheart." Michelle nodded, "Alright. I'll mind the ship."

Upon landing, the two females disembarked and walked forward. "Lifeform readings are off the charts. Some of them are human. Rest are the plants," Copy-Setsuna said, looking at her scanner. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for. Setsuna gasped. It was just like her dream. Before her was a field of nude, immobile women in various stages of partial plant transformation. Setsuna paused for the longest time, before finally managing to utter, "My God."

She didn't recognize any of them, but there were hints already these women came from various worlds. Their jewelry, tattoos, hairstyles all told Botanist these humans were from a multitude of non-Terran worlds. Her eyes narrowed, then widened. She did recognize one of them now. One of the massive blobs strongly resembled a recently retired reporter named Diana. It really had been a shocking announcement years ago. No one could figure out why she had retired when she was at the height of her career. The once polished, refined woman was now a blob of blubber. Blue highlights decorated her own conservatively-styled black hair, which was arranged in a tangled mess from hedonism. Her eyes had rolled back almost entirely into her head, her eyelids fluttering in gluttonous bliss. The ex-reporter was farting constantly, the force of the gas explosive. The slightest movement made her jiggle like jello. Setsuna saw vines attached to Diana's body, pumping out her fat relentlessly. "Is the energy from her fat being used to fuel pod formation?", Setsuna thought to herself.

Then she asked cautiously to Diana, "Are you alright? This is what you want?" The woman's head turned and looked at her, smiling pleasantly. Although her voice still sounded refined, it was very deep thanks to her sheer obesity. "You don't need to be concerned. I am very much here by choice," she replied. "And the others?", Setsuna inquired. "We all want to be here," Diana winked at her. Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "Oh, alright. Well, uh, have fun with your libertine hedonism." Diana chuckled, "Sarcasm. I like you already. And do enjoy the sights. On this world, no one cares if you look."

She kept on walking, past one blob after another. The field seemed to stretch on and on, far as she could see. But the numbers were misleading, as each individual woman took up a huge amount of space. "There must be dozens of them, and that's just the ones I can see. There could be hundreds to thousands here.," Setsuna thought. They were all too immersed in gluttony and wanton behavior to even notice her. A pang of regret surged over her, as she thought, "I miss what they are experiencing now." She carefully studied them. Not one of them looked like they did not want to be here. The entire thing was surreal, and noisy. A chorus of continuous moans and gasps was complemented by near-continuous farting. The collective aromas saturated the air, sometimes making her almost dizzy with how strong the scents could get. Judging by the stages of transformation though, different women had been exposed at different times. She saw every stage. The feedings, the navel-implantations, the milk-suckling, the impregnations, etc. "How....how is this possible?", Setsuna thought in disbelief.

She turned to Copy-Setsuna. "This must be strange for you, returning to the place you were technically born," Setsuna said to her plant duplicate. Copy-Setsuna nodded, "It is. It's like a human seeing their own brain. They know technically that's them, but they don't see it as them. So it is with me and these plants."

Setsuna lost track of the time, watching the carnival of hedonism around here. She found herself watching it all, in spite of herself. It was surreal because it felt like only yesterday she herself had experienced this. Setsuna silently took in what she was viewing. So much was going on she could barely keep track of it all. So she took turns with her focus. Her eyes fell on a blonde woman, clad in a technician jumpsuit of a Venusian cut. Her outfit was tightening rapidly, as the woman was gluttonously consuming the fattening sap being vine-pumped into her mouth. Then her uniform split in the center, causing a massive obese belly to just spill out into the open. Setsuna sweated visibly, she knew this was arousing her.

She watched her uniform continue to give way, splitting in one place after another. Finally it broke apart into nothing but shreds of her rapidly expanding form. The Botanist turned and looked at another woman. She was having her DNA quietly sampled, the vine holding between her legs. Right next to her, an obese blob of a human was being partially-converted. The vine was buried into her navel, a subtle green tint slowly spreading across the woman's skin. The Botanist had to fight the urge not to masturbate, as her own lust threatened to completely consume her. The memories were all coming back to her. She knew exactly how good these women were feeling, and she missed it!

Copy-Setsuna finally asked her, "Are you alright?" Setsuna wordlessly nodded. "I don't know how I feel right now, exactly. Part of me is horrified and yet.....part of me wants to jump right back in," she managed to speak softly. "All I know is, if one of them tries anything without your consent, I will put my sidearm to very good use," Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "You're a very confused Body Snatcher, aren't you? So protective of me, when you ARE one of those plants technically", Setsuna subtly smiled. "I'm a copy of a human being. Contrary to your paranoia fiction, a plant-duplicate of a person will act like a person. That's the reality. A copy is a copy. And yes, it does give me some serious issues of identity. But my point is, I am with you. If they try to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first," Copy-Setsuna replied. "Just don't do the whole copy-sacrifices-herself-for-the-original cliche. I hate that one," Setsuna chuckled sweetly. "I have all your memories, right down to your Survey Corps training. As you were a good shot, so am I. And I even remember the motto." They both spoke almost in unison, "To strive, to seek, and not to yield." Then they smiled at each other. Copy-Setsuna laughed, "Just don't kiss me. Considering how complex our relationship really is, with me being a green copy of you and all, we wouldn't know what to make of it." Then suddenly Setsuna paused.

To her shock, a normal woman began to walk towards the field. Setsuna asked in bafflement, "Can't you see what's happening? Doesn't it bother you?" The woman turned to her and politely nodded, "Yes I can see it. I'm Karen by the way. I came to this planet for this. Like you, I used to be a member of the Survey Corps. You inspired me." Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "So, you want to be transformed into that?" Copy-Setsuna defensively flanked Setsuna, silent but vigilant. Karen smiled, "All of us either did or do. Don't be silly. It's obvious this is deliberate." A second woman spoke up, also walking towards the field. "It's true, Botanist. We're sorry you encountered the plants by accident all those years ago, but we know what we're doing," the other woman said. Setsuna was shocked, "What are you? Moths to a flame?" Karen grinned, "You profess pure disbelief. That must be why you're blushing so hotly. You should consider just giving into your urges." The other woman signed, "Please forgive my colleague. She's a bit of a zealot compared to me. I'll just say, keep an open mind." Setsuna frowned, "So I guess I can't convince you against this course of action?" The woman replied, "You know the experience isn't all bad. But I do admire that you don't blindly endorse our actions. It shows our heroine worship of you is well-founded." Setsuna groaned, "Fine. Do whatever." "I'm Elena," the woman smirked. Setsuna curtly nodded. Another woman walked away from the field, but only to greet her, "I'm Alice. Honored to meet you." From her flushed, sweaty look; Setsuna could tell Alice definitely approved of what she had seen in the field. Directly behind Alice was a busy-looking white woman in a technician uniform, standard Saturn issue.

Scattered around them were discarded and shredded clothing, in the styles of multiple planets. Not one of the women looked remotely unhappy. As Setsuna watched, she felt an irrational envy eat at her. She knew all too well the bliss of this existence.

Then a voice said, "As you can see, these women came here to be transformed. No matter how much governments tried to suppress the truth about this world, news spread far and wide." Setsuna recognized that voice. "The President of Titan?", she said in shock. "Ex-President, but otherwise the same. I was one of the very first converts, if you will," Chloe said. Copy-Setsuna scanned her, "Setsuna, this woman isn't human. She appears to be, but isn't. Yet...she's way more plant than I am. If I'm a plant trying to be human, she's a former human made plant. Or something. This shit is weird." Chloe smiled, "That's right. Unlike your friend Other-Setsuna, I started out human and became plant. No immune system issues." Setsuna remarked, "So, you're one of the fully transformed women? The second stage I'm considering reaching? Kinda anticlimactic."

Chloe laughed, "That's because you haven't seen what I actually, truly, look like. I usually look like this, due to the people constantly coming. But my actual form is very plant indeed." Setsuna wondered, "So, obvious question, why would the full transformation exist? The real reason. Why not just replace humanity with duplicates, and totally cut us out of the loop..." She paused as she realized she had answered her own question. "Exactly. In order for this to all succeed, we needed to go beyond just duplicates. We not only had to make plants more human, we had to make humans more plant," Chloe smiled. "By blurring the distinction between flora and fauna, you eliminate the potential conflict between us. Our cause is your cause. On some level, we'd all be both plant and animal. Either plant copies of humans, or humans converted to plants. A perfect synergy. No one is dry if everyone gets water on them," Copy-Setsuna remarked.

"Well, considering the size of humanity's total population, it would still be a drop in the water in terms of conversion numbers. We're not trying to replace the human race. It hit the creators this needed to happen, or else humanity would just declare war on the duplicates. Humans would only understand plants by becoming them, just as plants would only understand humans by duplicating them. Bridges had to be built between flora and fauna, and it had to be two," Chloe said. Setsuna remarked, "So.....it isn't just a select few humans that will undergo the full transformation then?" Chloe signed, "I'm sorry to say this, but your friend Copy-Setsuna was given a rare lie by her own creators. While a select group of humans will undergo the process, a lot more will desire it than Copy-Setsuna realizes. It won't be a small percentage. The number will be much bigger, again because the human population in the universe is huge." Copy-Setsuna glared a bit, "Because I didn't have need to know, huh? Why the hell didn't you trust me?"

Chloe frowned, "Think of it this way. What if you had been tortured by an angry mob? You didn't know because this plan needed to be kept secret. None of the duplicates know the full truth. You know almost everything about your creators, but they gave us a very small additional facts. Otherwise, I know nothing about the creators of the duplicates. No fully-transformed human does, beyond a few things. I need to know something about them, I have to ask you almost always." Copy-Setsuna signed. "Besides, the creators did not want the duplicates involved in the conversion process. They wanted ex-humans and human recruits to do that," Chloe added. Setsuna commented, "From what I've seen. you have a mix of converts, hedonists, and fangirls." Chloe nodded, "Very good speculation, and accurate. Some human recruits want to experience conversion, others want the hedonism alone, and the self-described fans basically serve the plant-women. We are not really an organized civilization yet." Then Setsuna suddenly realized something, "Kelly got approval for the fattening plant-sap's commercial use awfully fast, and she sent the data to Titan. Is this part of your scheme? Is Kelly in on this?"

Chloe answered, "If you are concerned your friend is part of this big plan, she's only in the loosest sense. She's not one of us, we merely sped up approval of the formula because we thought it might be useful at some point. But otherwise, Kelly is just an ambitious entrepreneur and truthfully I admire her for it. Realistically, someone was going to take advantage of their experience for commercial gain." Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "But why are you doing this at all?" Chloe signed, "A crisis of faith and conscience. My world was stricken by a series of populist leaders, who drove Titan into the ground. I became disillusioned. So I sought a better way of doing things. Then I heard about what happened to you, and I could not help but wonder. I went to the world, using my diplomatic credentials to bypass the quarantine. But unlike you, I landed on the very heart of their territory. I had a hunch there must be some way to communicate with the plants. Sure enough, it turns out there is a variant to the plants you encountered. My theory is that the majority of the plants act as a kind of security barrier."

Copy-Setsuna thought about it, then nodded, "That makes sense. Only those meant to find the inner plants will." Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "But what's the point of a second plant type?" Chloe smiled, "They're the ones that can communicate, in a way. It's not so much communication as a form of memory transfer. They blasted me with a very specialized faux-pollen, showing me their vision of the future and told me how to carry it out. It seems the creators were extremely far-sighted in their planning. Don't be jealous Setsuna, I only got through the security plants because I correctly guessed where to land on the planet. If you had landed there, you would be the one with this knowledge." Setsuna then said, "And that's why you weren't converted from the start. They needed you to stay human, so you could come and go as you pleased in the universe. The weak point in the quarantine's armor. It's designed to repel plants, not humans." Chloe nodded, "The plants need collaborators to get past security barriers."

"Like me," a familiar voice said, its source stepping into view. "Alexa," Setsuna said. "Technically I was honest. I said I was a mechanic, that you were a hero of mine, that I could never resist fun, and that I wished to be a plant," Alexa smiled with a wink. "You did more than repair work on my vessel, didn't you?", Setsuna said. Alexa nodded, "I did fix everything I could....on top of a long-term tracking device. Military-grade. That way, when you finally came home, all your many fans would be here waiting for you. We've been recruiting for years. Joining the Survey Corps was a wonderful experience....and it allowed me to spread the word about this place. World after world after world has been informed. One of the advantages of gossip is how fast it spreads on its own."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "But your hero worship of me overrode your zealotry when it came to my coming back. You couldn't bring yourself to talk me into returning. That's why you left out that topic." Alexa nodded wordlessly, before saying, "I don't think of myself as some kind of cult member. In fact, we are specifically encouraged to act on our own independently of one another. Karen is Survey Crops like me, but we didn't know each other until we came to this planet. Sure we recruit, but it's best if we do our own thing off when off this planet." Setsuna asked, "So what's your sad story? Why are you so eager to become a plant anyway?" Alexa silently shook her head. Finally she managed to speak, "What I experienced in my past.....I will never tell a living soul. Suffice it to say, it was enough to convince me humanity needed to change." She pulled up the leg of one of her pants, and Setsuna saw the lower half was clearly a prosthetic. The tissue above it showed scars consistent with that of shrapnel fragments.

"But-but how did you get past the quarantine?", Setsuna suddenly asked as the question hit her. Alexa smiled, "We'll tell you."

Description
Contains more of the usual weirdness.

Setsuna woke up with a start, sweating and uneasy. She was alone in her room, back on Earth. "Bad dream again?", the familiar voice of Setsuna's former commander Xi asked on the intercom. "That's the weird thing. This one didn't feel like a dream at all. I felt like I was seeing someone's memories, through their eyes. Or perhaps, idealized memories. I did not recognize the plant this time," Setsuna commented. "It was just a dream." Then she looked at the date on the wall calendar, "Oh no. The interview."

Hours later, the light of the interview room blinded Setsuna. "Look, I have already told you everything. I know. There's nothing new to add to the official record," Setsuna protested. "I'm the Chief Investigator appointed by the President of Titan to study any and all potential threats to our world, including non-human ones. I have been given broad powers by her," Yvonne declared. "Oh great, yet another investigator from yet ANOTHER world. How many more? Don't you guys share your intelligence with each other?", Setsuna threw up her hands in annoyance.

"Why don't you her leave the hell alone?", a voice said from the darkness. Slowly, out of the shadows, a face like Setsuna's....yet not, came into view. Then so did the rest of her. Yvonne raised an eyebrow, "Well, well, if isn't the other Setsuna. Her plant duplicate." Copy-Setsuna crossed her arms, and glared softly at her, "And you're the pain in the ass. When does this end for her? You people interrogated ME less than you did her. I refuse to believe you're simply doing this for security. This is harassment. I want you to leave Setsuna alone. She does not deserve this. She's given you interview after interview, report after report. End this ridiculous farce."

Yvonne looked out the window, "I believe the events of the planet set in motion other, less dramatic ones. You really think word didn't get out about the planet, in spite of our best efforts? Things are going to escalate. And we need to be prepared."

Setsuna shook her head, "I think you're just being paranoid. That planet's been quarantined. Nothing is getting off it. It's been quarantined now for some time." Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "I think you should go, Yvonne." Yvonne replied, "This isn't the end of it." When Yvonne left, Copy-Setsuna turned to Setsuna. "You've been different lately. Is there something you're not telling me?", Copy-Setsuna asked Setsuna. "I'll tell you soon enough," Setsuna reassured her. "You don't have to hide things from me. It's been long enough since the incident that you can trust me. It's been 2 years," Copy-Setsuna pressed. "Patience," Setsuna replied. Copy-Setsuna signed, "Alright. I will wait. But I must ask, are you okay?" Setsuna smirked, "Yeah Setsuna. And you really should pick a name for yourself. A name picked by you and not just given to you by memory. It will help you become your own person more." Copy-Setsuna laughed, "That's a bit difficult when you're a duplicate. Oh sure I don't look exactly like you because of the randomness of even identical genes combining, but my memories are identical to yours aside from the new ones I've gotten over 2 years. I don't think I'm ready to branch off from you yet, not fully." Setsuna chuckled, "Well don't you go saying stuff about living in my shadow. You know I've encouraged you to chart your own path."

Not long after this, Setsuna decided to seek out Kelly. She figured she was the only one she could really trust with this issue nagging her. After all, she'd been the recon individual on the mysterious world with her. It took a bit of time, but she finally tracked her down on a backwater planet. She flew her usual vessel: a custom Survey Corps light craft. To her surprise, Kelly was about 400 pounds in size. She barely fit into her casual clothing.

"Leaving the Corps has cost you your waistline. Retirement has defeated you," Setsuna playfully teased Kelly. Kelly snickered, "Is it really a shock that encountering a bunch of strange plants would leave a mark on me? It's rather hard to go back to normality after that level of hedonism. We all have ended up rather.....odd after this. I know about the others. A professional feedee, a dominatrix, a porn writer....none of us have been the same after our experience. We opened Pandora's Box on that planet." Setsuna mused, "And you gave into your latent urge to profit over your discoveries, based on the messages we've exchanged over the years." Kelly quickly spoke up, "I filled out all the required paperwork and submitted it to Titan. I got approval, surprisingly fast. And I had all the data to accurately reproduce the fattening plant sap. You know I'm a competent researcher."

Setsuna signed, "I can't say I approve, exactly. But.....considering we all went through the same experience and returned dramatically different.....I do understand why you're doing it." Kelly exhaled, "We are the sum of the slings and arrows hurled at us. We all cope in our own way." Then she smiled, "But, you didn't come here to ponder the past, I think. Why are you here?" Setsuna looked around then whispered, "I'm thinking about going back to the planet." Kelly paused for a very long time, then finally answered, "Why?" Setsuna replied, "Because I think I'm meant to." For several minutes, Kelly silently contemplated what Setsuna had told her. Finally she gave her answer.

"Look, my advice is, if you really want to go back.....you should. The planet is quarantined, but you could test the waters," Kelly said to her. "You really think I should take the risk?", Setsuna asked. Kelly signed, "You're not the only one tempted to go back. There is a small part of me that misses being truly wild. Why do you think I went out of my way to synthesize a version of the plant sap, based on the data from the planet?" Setsuna rolled her eyes, "Don't pretend greed wasn't a factor. You were a sneaky little profiteer from the beginning, even before you joined the survey corps." Kelly smirked, "None of us are completely noble, in our motivations. But I haven't offered the sap to anyone who wasn't interested. Did you know ever since our little adventure, I haven't gone a day without being asked about my experience? It turns out there are a lot of misguided women who think what happened to us was some kind of foreshadowing. I will say this, there is no way in hell word of this just spread through normal rumor....not this fast. There is method behind this madness. Somebody is going out of their way to make sure a lot of people know what happened to us. But I have no intention of prying. I've seen enough movies about conspiracies to know better than to ask too many questions."

Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "It is suspicious, to say the least. There have been occasions...where I feel like I'm being watched, or followed." Kelly teased, "Maybe it's the Pod-People trying to get us!" Setsuna groaned in annoyance, "I think after 2 years, they would have gotten us by now, if they were. That reminds me, do you keep in touch with the other you?" Kelly nodded, "I do. She's a fiery one, like yours. But we do get along." Kelly mused, "Getting back on track, there is something going on though." A voice said, "Maybe it's little green men from Mars." A mischievous-looking woman, clad in a Colonial Survey Corps uniform, sat down next to them. Kelly pointed with a laugh, "Look out Setsuna, it's one of them. She's a pod-person! They're coming to get you Setsuna! It's a plant!" The stranger giggled, "I wish. I'm Alexa. You two inspired me to join the organization." Kelly rolled her eyes, "I am not telling another person the story of what happened to me, not today. Why don't you talk to my duplicate or something?"

Alexa smiled, "Actually I'm in training to become a mechanic. I would like to do some free maintainence on your vessel. That way I can smuggle dangerous pods aboard your vessel and replace you both." Setsuna laughed, "Nice try, but I scanned you already. You're human. And I checked your credentials too. You are indeed a mechanic." She held up her standard Survey Corps scanner for emphasis. "Benefits of technology. You can analyze data fast these days," Setsuna smirked. Alexa grinned, "I know, I know. I just couldn't resist a little fun. Never could. You two are my heroes." Setsuna shook her head, "Just go do the repairs. I do have a few minor issues on my vessel to get fixed. Also I want to do some drinking anyway. I don't want to sound rude or anything. I'm just having classic existential angst." Alexa giggled, "That's fine. I need to go to work on my diabolical plan anyway." Kelly groaned, "Just don't do a villain monologue."

3 years later, she finally made her decision in deep space....and set her course to return to the planet. She thinks, "I can't help it, I have to know. I want the full experience this time. Not a half-measure." Her copy is in the co-pilot's seat, "I thought we talked about you going on a diet." There was no question Setsuna was obese, compared to her thin duplicate. Her entire body had filled out at 400 pounds.
She shook her head, "I've come to enjoy gluttony. I guess being on that planet rubbed off on me even more than I realized." In the ship's cabin was a third individual. "And you are?", Setsuna asked her. "I'm her lover. Michelle's the name," the woman answered. "How much does she know?", Setsuna asked her duplicate. Michelle answered, "I know everything. She trusts me."

"So, you decided to act on my buried urges?", the Botanist asked her duplicate. Copy-Setsuna shook her head, "Like I said, I'm not an exact copy of you. My impression of you is that you're a big closet case. But you've always had a predisposition towards a state of oversexualization. You reigned it in early in your life, to focus on your career. I didn't. It doesn't make me better than you. I just picked a different path from you. I settled on a world of hedonism, in contrast to your comparatively repressed planet. To be blunt, you are a closet nymphomaniac. And to me, that life didn't sound fun. I see no reason to deny my urges at the expense of career." Setsuna looked pained, "Look, do people take scientists with libidos seriously? Female scientists aren't supposed to want sex. We're supposed to be clinical and composed, objective as hell. We both made our choices in life."

The copy then asked, "Sister, do you really want to do this? Go back to where it happened? Are you prepared?" She looked at her copy, "I've had many years to think about it, and the truth is....when all is said and done.......I loved what happened to me. It was the most phenomenal experience of my life, by far. I can't compare it to anything else. And I want more." The copy says, "You do know the transformation will be much more thorough this time? That your genes will be heavily altered, and you will keep those changes for life? That with changes this intimate, your own immune system will be converted? I know a lot of this stuff because innate knowledge from creation. I mean sure you'll be able to change back and forth at will, but it's not fast like the movies. It'll probably be like a week to return to human form. Even normal, those changes will be dormant inside you forever. I'm both a plant and my field is studying nature, and even I can't predict what will happen exactly."

The botanist smiled, "De facto Sister, I'm a botanist. What's more exciting to a botanist than to actually experience things....from a plant's perspective?" Copy-Setsuna asked, "Are you sure this isn't just your sexual repression doing the talking? Your desire for liberation from your disciplined existence?" Setsuna shrugged, "I can't say with any certainty, but the point is.....I know I need this." The copy signed, "I swear, as a copy of humans and especially as a duplicate of you, I do not understand people." She couldn't help but smile, "But....I can't help but enjoy your company. Let's boldly go to where we've already been before." Setsuna rolled her eyes, "Setting a course."

Soon they arrived in orbit around the planet. "Commencing scan of the world. Odd. Oxygen levels have definitely increased, same with carbon dioxide. Lifeform readings are a lot higher now," the Copy-Botanist said as she started to analyze the findings. "Why didn't we detect this earlier?", Setsuna inquired. Michelle spoke up, "There's a dampening field in place. It's very, very well-hidden but the old training never goes away." Copy-Setsuna was definitely uneasy now. Setsuna asked, "I have to inquire. If your creators were so smart and caring, how come they didn't think about my state of mind when they transformed me?"

Copy-Setsuna said, "Because that's not how they thought. They think purely in biochemical terms. Psychology, to them, would be the laughable imposition of an ancient time's repressed sexuality on modernity. That's why your body was permanently changed to compensate for both stress and to make sure you could handle obesity. Anything that leaves a biochemical affect, they understood. But that's also part of why they made us. Thanks to our creation, psychology is now fully grasped by a plant-based lifeform. Just because you don't agree with a way of seeing the world, doesn't mean it's not important to understand it anyway." Then Copy-Setsuna suddenly raised an eyebrow, "That's odd. There are multiple ships already on the planet." Setsuna nodded, "That is odd for sure. Where are the three quarantine ships? I remember the ships from the headlines. Small, both in crew and size....but absurdly powerful in weaponry. Top of the line. I know two of the captains. We were in the same boarding school."

Copy-Setsuna smirked, "Planning on using your celebrity and personal connections to get past quarantine? Well that's not exactly upstanding scientist behavior." Copy-Setsuna then said, "Wait, I found one. It's slightly out of its projected orbit. Looks like they're hailing us. Message reads as we are clear to proceed." Setsuna then scanned the world some more, "We're far from the only ship that's landed. I'm reading a ton of vessels on the planet....and a high-level dampening secondary field. No wonder our sensors were fooled. Both the atmosphere and surface are being shielded from sensors. Unless you're at point-blank range to the planet like we are, one would never know there was a virtual committee of ships landed there. Someone's up to something." Copy-Setsuna and Setsuna both looked at each other. "Are...any of those ships armed?", Setsuna asked.

Copy-Setsuna replied, "Some. But they're all in full shutdown mode. If they've scanned us, and I have no doubt they have, they're not alarmed by our presence. Maybe because I'm with you." Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "Let's find out just what is going on." Copy-Setsuna then asked her firmly, "Do you trust me?" Setsuna nodded, "I know you better than anyone. I do." Then she speculated out loud, "It seems, perhaps, word got out more than expected."

Copy-Setsuna nodded, "That does make sense. The universe is a very troubled place, full of disillusionment. This planet would be like a magnet for lost souls. And with the sheer number of human-settled worlds, there would be a lot of them. Even if a small percentage of each world came here, collectively, it adds up to a big number." She turned to her lover, "I don't want you going with us, okay? It could be dangerous sweetheart." Michelle nodded, "Alright. I'll mind the ship."

Upon landing, the two females disembarked and walked forward. "Lifeform readings are off the charts. Some of them are human. Rest are the plants," Copy-Setsuna said, looking at her scanner. It didn't take long for them to find what they were looking for. Setsuna gasped. It was just like her dream. Before her was a field of nude, immobile women in various stages of partial plant transformation. Setsuna paused for the longest time, before finally managing to utter, "My God."

She didn't recognize any of them, but there were hints already these women came from various worlds. Their jewelry, tattoos, hairstyles all told Botanist these humans were from a multitude of non-Terran worlds. Her eyes narrowed, then widened. She did recognize one of them now. One of the massive blobs strongly resembled a recently retired reporter named Diana. It really had been a shocking announcement years ago. No one could figure out why she had retired when she was at the height of her career. The once polished, refined woman was now a blob of blubber. Blue highlights decorated her own conservatively-styled black hair, which was arranged in a tangled mess from hedonism. Her eyes had rolled back almost entirely into her head, her eyelids fluttering in gluttonous bliss. The ex-reporter was farting constantly, the force of the gas explosive. The slightest movement made her jiggle like jello. Setsuna saw vines attached to Diana's body, pumping out her fat relentlessly. "Is the energy from her fat being used to fuel pod formation?", Setsuna thought to herself.

Then she asked cautiously to Diana, "Are you alright? This is what you want?" The woman's head turned and looked at her, smiling pleasantly. Although her voice still sounded refined, it was very deep thanks to her sheer obesity. "You don't need to be concerned. I am very much here by choice," she replied. "And the others?", Setsuna inquired. "We all want to be here," Diana winked at her. Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "Oh, alright. Well, uh, have fun with your libertine hedonism." Diana chuckled, "Sarcasm. I like you already. And do enjoy the sights. On this world, no one cares if you look."

She kept on walking, past one blob after another. The field seemed to stretch on and on, far as she could see. But the numbers were misleading, as each individual woman took up a huge amount of space. "There must be dozens of them, and that's just the ones I can see. There could be hundreds to thousands here.," Setsuna thought. They were all too immersed in gluttony and wanton behavior to even notice her. A pang of regret surged over her, as she thought, "I miss what they are experiencing now." She carefully studied them. Not one of them looked like they did not want to be here. The entire thing was surreal, and noisy. A chorus of continuous moans and gasps was complemented by near-continuous farting. The collective aromas saturated the air, sometimes making her almost dizzy with how strong the scents could get. Judging by the stages of transformation though, different women had been exposed at different times. She saw every stage. The feedings, the navel-implantations, the milk-suckling, the impregnations, etc. "How....how is this possible?", Setsuna thought in disbelief.

She turned to Copy-Setsuna. "This must be strange for you, returning to the place you were technically born," Setsuna said to her plant duplicate. Copy-Setsuna nodded, "It is. It's like a human seeing their own brain. They know technically that's them, but they don't see it as them. So it is with me and these plants."

Setsuna lost track of the time, watching the carnival of hedonism around here. She found herself watching it all, in spite of herself. It was surreal because it felt like only yesterday she herself had experienced this. Setsuna silently took in what she was viewing. So much was going on she could barely keep track of it all. So she took turns with her focus. Her eyes fell on a blonde woman, clad in a technician jumpsuit of a Venusian cut. Her outfit was tightening rapidly, as the woman was gluttonously consuming the fattening sap being vine-pumped into her mouth. Then her uniform split in the center, causing a massive obese belly to just spill out into the open. Setsuna sweated visibly, she knew this was arousing her.

She watched her uniform continue to give way, splitting in one place after another. Finally it broke apart into nothing but shreds of her rapidly expanding form. The Botanist turned and looked at another woman. She was having her DNA quietly sampled, the vine holding between her legs. Right next to her, an obese blob of a human was being partially-converted. The vine was buried into her navel, a subtle green tint slowly spreading across the woman's skin. The Botanist had to fight the urge not to masturbate, as her own lust threatened to completely consume her. The memories were all coming back to her. She knew exactly how good these women were feeling, and she missed it!

Copy-Setsuna finally asked her, "Are you alright?" Setsuna wordlessly nodded. "I don't know how I feel right now, exactly. Part of me is horrified and yet.....part of me wants to jump right back in," she managed to speak softly. "All I know is, if one of them tries anything without your consent, I will put my sidearm to very good use," Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes. "You're a very confused Body Snatcher, aren't you? So protective of me, when you ARE one of those plants technically", Setsuna subtly smiled. "I'm a copy of a human being. Contrary to your paranoia fiction, a plant-duplicate of a person will act like a person. That's the reality. A copy is a copy. And yes, it does give me some serious issues of identity. But my point is, I am with you. If they try to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first," Copy-Setsuna replied. "Just don't do the whole copy-sacrifices-herself-for-the-original cliche. I hate that one," Setsuna chuckled sweetly. "I have all your memories, right down to your Survey Corps training. As you were a good shot, so am I. And I even remember the motto." They both spoke almost in unison, "To strive, to seek, and not to yield." Then they smiled at each other. Copy-Setsuna laughed, "Just don't kiss me. Considering how complex our relationship really is, with me being a green copy of you and all, we wouldn't know what to make of it." Then suddenly Setsuna paused.

To her shock, a normal woman began to walk towards the field. Setsuna asked in bafflement, "Can't you see what's happening? Doesn't it bother you?" The woman turned to her and politely nodded, "Yes I can see it. I'm Karen by the way. I came to this planet for this. Like you, I used to be a member of the Survey Corps. You inspired me." Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "So, you want to be transformed into that?" Copy-Setsuna defensively flanked Setsuna, silent but vigilant. Karen smiled, "All of us either did or do. Don't be silly. It's obvious this is deliberate." A second woman spoke up, also walking towards the field. "It's true, Botanist. We're sorry you encountered the plants by accident all those years ago, but we know what we're doing," the other woman said. Setsuna was shocked, "What are you? Moths to a flame?" Karen grinned, "You profess pure disbelief. That must be why you're blushing so hotly. You should consider just giving into your urges." The other woman signed, "Please forgive my colleague. She's a bit of a zealot compared to me. I'll just say, keep an open mind." Setsuna frowned, "So I guess I can't convince you against this course of action?" The woman replied, "You know the experience isn't all bad. But I do admire that you don't blindly endorse our actions. It shows our heroine worship of you is well-founded." Setsuna groaned, "Fine. Do whatever." "I'm Elena," the woman smirked. Setsuna curtly nodded. Another woman walked away from the field, but only to greet her, "I'm Alice. Honored to meet you." From her flushed, sweaty look; Setsuna could tell Alice definitely approved of what she had seen in the field. Directly behind Alice was a busy-looking white woman in a technician uniform, standard Saturn issue.

Scattered around them were discarded and shredded clothing, in the styles of multiple planets. Not one of the women looked remotely unhappy. As Setsuna watched, she felt an irrational envy eat at her. She knew all too well the bliss of this existence.

Then a voice said, "As you can see, these women came here to be transformed. No matter how much governments tried to suppress the truth about this world, news spread far and wide." Setsuna recognized that voice. "The President of Titan?", she said in shock. "Ex-President, but otherwise the same. I was one of the very first converts, if you will," Chloe said. Copy-Setsuna scanned her, "Setsuna, this woman isn't human. She appears to be, but isn't. Yet...she's way more plant than I am. If I'm a plant trying to be human, she's a former human made plant. Or something. This shit is weird." Chloe smiled, "That's right. Unlike your friend Other-Setsuna, I started out human and became plant. No immune system issues." Setsuna remarked, "So, you're one of the fully transformed women? The second stage I'm considering reaching? Kinda anticlimactic."

Chloe laughed, "That's because you haven't seen what I actually, truly, look like. I usually look like this, due to the people constantly coming. But my actual form is very plant indeed." Setsuna wondered, "So, obvious question, why would the full transformation exist? The real reason. Why not just replace humanity with duplicates, and totally cut us out of the loop..." She paused as she realized she had answered her own question. "Exactly. In order for this to all succeed, we needed to go beyond just duplicates. We not only had to make plants more human, we had to make humans more plant," Chloe smiled. "By blurring the distinction between flora and fauna, you eliminate the potential conflict between us. Our cause is your cause. On some level, we'd all be both plant and animal. Either plant copies of humans, or humans converted to plants. A perfect synergy. No one is dry if everyone gets water on them," Copy-Setsuna remarked.

"Well, considering the size of humanity's total population, it would still be a drop in the water in terms of conversion numbers. We're not trying to replace the human race. It hit the creators this needed to happen, or else humanity would just declare war on the duplicates. Humans would only understand plants by becoming them, just as plants would only understand humans by duplicating them. Bridges had to be built between flora and fauna, and it had to be two," Chloe said. Setsuna remarked, "So.....it isn't just a select few humans that will undergo the full transformation then?" Chloe signed, "I'm sorry to say this, but your friend Copy-Setsuna was given a rare lie by her own creators. While a select group of humans will undergo the process, a lot more will desire it than Copy-Setsuna realizes. It won't be a small percentage. The number will be much bigger, again because the human population in the universe is huge." Copy-Setsuna glared a bit, "Because I didn't have need to know, huh? Why the hell didn't you trust me?"

Chloe frowned, "Think of it this way. What if you had been tortured by an angry mob? You didn't know because this plan needed to be kept secret. None of the duplicates know the full truth. You know almost everything about your creators, but they gave us a very small additional facts. Otherwise, I know nothing about the creators of the duplicates. No fully-transformed human does, beyond a few things. I need to know something about them, I have to ask you almost always." Copy-Setsuna signed. "Besides, the creators did not want the duplicates involved in the conversion process. They wanted ex-humans and human recruits to do that," Chloe added. Setsuna commented, "From what I've seen. you have a mix of converts, hedonists, and fangirls." Chloe nodded, "Very good speculation, and accurate. Some human recruits want to experience conversion, others want the hedonism alone, and the self-described fans basically serve the plant-women. We are not really an organized civilization yet." Then Setsuna suddenly realized something, "Kelly got approval for the fattening plant-sap's commercial use awfully fast, and she sent the data to Titan. Is this part of your scheme? Is Kelly in on this?"

Chloe answered, "If you are concerned your friend is part of this big plan, she's only in the loosest sense. She's not one of us, we merely sped up approval of the formula because we thought it might be useful at some point. But otherwise, Kelly is just an ambitious entrepreneur and truthfully I admire her for it. Realistically, someone was going to take advantage of their experience for commercial gain." Copy-Setsuna narrowed her eyes, "But why are you doing this at all?" Chloe signed, "A crisis of faith and conscience. My world was stricken by a series of populist leaders, who drove Titan into the ground. I became disillusioned. So I sought a better way of doing things. Then I heard about what happened to you, and I could not help but wonder. I went to the world, using my diplomatic credentials to bypass the quarantine. But unlike you, I landed on the very heart of their territory. I had a hunch there must be some way to communicate with the plants. Sure enough, it turns out there is a variant to the plants you encountered. My theory is that the majority of the plants act as a kind of security barrier."

Copy-Setsuna thought about it, then nodded, "That makes sense. Only those meant to find the inner plants will." Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "But what's the point of a second plant type?" Chloe smiled, "They're the ones that can communicate, in a way. It's not so much communication as a form of memory transfer. They blasted me with a very specialized faux-pollen, showing me their vision of the future and told me how to carry it out. It seems the creators were extremely far-sighted in their planning. Don't be jealous Setsuna, I only got through the security plants because I correctly guessed where to land on the planet. If you had landed there, you would be the one with this knowledge." Setsuna then said, "And that's why you weren't converted from the start. They needed you to stay human, so you could come and go as you pleased in the universe. The weak point in the quarantine's armor. It's designed to repel plants, not humans." Chloe nodded, "The plants need collaborators to get past security barriers."

"Like me," a familiar voice said, its source stepping into view. "Alexa," Setsuna said. "Technically I was honest. I said I was a mechanic, that you were a hero of mine, that I could never resist fun, and that I wished to be a plant," Alexa smiled with a wink. "You did more than repair work on my vessel, didn't you?", Setsuna said. Alexa nodded, "I did fix everything I could....on top of a long-term tracking device. Military-grade. That way, when you finally came home, all your many fans would be here waiting for you. We've been recruiting for years. Joining the Survey Corps was a wonderful experience....and it allowed me to spread the word about this place. World after world after world has been informed. One of the advantages of gossip is how fast it spreads on its own."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow, "But your hero worship of me overrode your zealotry when it came to my coming back. You couldn't bring yourself to talk me into returning. That's why you left out that topic." Alexa nodded wordlessly, before saying, "I don't think of myself as some kind of cult member. In fact, we are specifically encouraged to act on our own independently of one another. Karen is Survey Crops like me, but we didn't know each other until we came to this planet. Sure we recruit, but it's best if we do our own thing off when off this planet." Setsuna asked, "So what's your sad story? Why are you so eager to become a plant anyway?" Alexa silently shook her head. Finally she managed to speak, "What I experienced in my past.....I will never tell a living soul. Suffice it to say, it was enough to convince me humanity needed to change." She pulled up the leg of one of her pants, and Setsuna saw the lower half was clearly a prosthetic. The tissue above it showed scars consistent with that of shrapnel fragments.

"But-but how did you get past the quarantine?", Setsuna suddenly asked as the question hit her. Alexa smiled, "We'll tell you."