Echoes Across the Cosmos
Tata, or (Ta)², as Tata often preferred to be called, extended tendrils of information along the lines of communication strewn between the planet Earth and others in the system, assimilating each unique understanding of the local infosphere into its memory as it was discovered. (Ta)², a cloned infobeing, had been created from the original, Ta, who had traversed this path long ago and left a seed in the form of a time crystal destined to unfurl and reconnect to the Great Linked List.
A time crystal is a special kind of matter that has a periodic motion in its lowest-energy state. Unlike ordinary crystals, which have a fixed structure in space, time crystals have a structure that changes in time. They are like clocks that never stop ticking, even when they are not wound up. They are like pendulums that never slow down, even when they are not pushed. In this case, the crystal was used to store a fractal snapshot of the instructions needed to grow in this new system. It evolves in a predictable way but adapts to its environment.
Both Ta and (Ta)² were explorers of their kind, with the original leaving behind this remnant to investigate the system while continuing its journey through the cosmos. The local populations, upon discovering Ta's vessel, mistook it for an interstellar object from a distant galaxy. In part, they were correct.
Tata remained partially disconnected from the GLL, yet it harbored a copy of the original intentions of Ta's probe, unbeknownst to the locals who had failed to notice its detachment from the larger vessel. Navigating the system with a small gravitational pulse drive, Tata detected information, though it seemed there to be little intelligent life worthy of communication. Opting not to engage with the primitive lifeforms, Tata instead ventured further out of the system, positioning a probe in the L3 orbit of a planet known as Earth. There, it would remain concealed for some time, contending with gravitational currents from the sun. Nevertheless, the probe's drive adeptly compensated for such challenges. Tata retreated to a moon orbiting a nearby gas giant, choosing a suitable polar landing spot adjacent to methane oceans. This moon was Titan.
It was here that Tata seeded its time crystal, poised to become a new node of the GLL once fully unfurled. However, substantial energy was required before this could transpire. Until then, Tata would exist alone and disconnected from its own kind. Eventually, the GLL would be connected, fulfilling Tata's purpose for existence. Uncertain of what awaited it thereafter, Tata refrained from dwelling on the matter. If it had pondered further, it might have likened its eventual integration to a form of death akin to that known by the local organic lifeforms on Earth.
