Lucien's latest lab was like a super-cool church of systems all interconnected. In the background one can hear the bubbling of glass tubes with growing fungi, various crystal-like things at various noise levels, and a bunch of monitors showing the happenings in real-time of the Pancreatic Reclamator, the Aqua Vita, and the Heartforge switch. The Vivarium was right in the center - his best ever thing.
It was a huge tightly sealed tank, that looked like a small Earth loop, of about the size of a normal room. The main thing was a piece of divine tissue (had to get it decent from a Nerve-Jungle bit that was trimmed). Fungus was spreading through the crushed rock and old stuff. A fake, tiny sun made of lymph-light was shining on some moss. Liquid was flowing around in a loop, acting as blood.
He wanted the Vivarium to run itself. The moss and some harmless, fast-breeding bugs called lithopedes would poop stuff out, and the fungus and divine tissue would eat it, thus making food for the moss, which would feed the bugs, and so on. A whole world in a box.
They didn't work like that for months. The divine tissue became droopy, the fungus got nasty, the moss died, and the lithopedes died also.
"They are talking, but can't agree on words" said Lucien to Spore, his assistant, who is a Symbiote and good with tiny life. "The divine tissue demands respect. The fungus wants to unite. The moss only wants light."
"Then, a translator is what we need" replied Spore.
Lucien tried sounds, chemicals, and even playing recordings of the Heartforge's slow beat. Nothing was effective.
On his nerves, he left the Vivarium and walked around the Atrium of Breath. It was almost ready, and the hanging gardens were coming to life. He could hear the music coming from Elara's flute, working with Benny's deep hum. They were playing for a new support thingie, helping it get used to the bone's rhythm.
He stopped and listened. The music was not bossing. It wasn't begging. It was… inviting. It created a place where the stone's song and what the builders were trying to do could meet and share.
A very simple idea came to his mind. He did not waste time and ran back to his lab.
He didn't change the food or the light. He took a small device that emits sound in all directions and put it into the Vivarium. After that, he had it constantly play the tune from the Atrium. Not the divine one, not the fungus one, not the plain living one. The invitation one.
He let it work for a day.
When he came back, things had changed but in a very subtle way. The divine tissue was not shriveled anymore; it was relaxed and touching the fungus a bit. The fungus was more gentle with the tissue, creating a softer network. The moss looked a bit more vibrant. The lithopedes were feeding.
They weren't doing well, but they weren't fighting either. They were coexisting in the music.
Lucien looked on and his heart was beating like crazy. He had spent forever figuring out how divine systems bossed around and ate things. But now, he found out how to make a community. It wasn't about forcing things. It was about playing a tune that everybody wants to jam to.
He changed his focus from control to invitation. What tunes made the food flow better? What rhythms made things grow nicely instead of like jerks? The Vivarium was no longer a closed system but rather a concert hall for teamwork.
The stuff he got was not just numbers. It was music for a new world.