Mutated or evolved?

Plants have always been the first to change; to survive plants need to meet the environmental requirement.

If not they will perish.

And the water purifying sponges we found seem to be a type of algae before or post-Apocalypse.

Now, these new algae have mutated or evolved to meet the new environmental requirements.

When in water, they can absorb water into their bodies which is an important source of their existence, needed for their survival i.e. these new algae can't survive outside water or when there is no water inside their body.

Like camels that store water in their humps, these new algae also store water in their body.

This is their survival instinct.

These new algae tend to absorb water into their body; the quantity of water intake may vary depending on the condition of its surrounding.

If there is abundant water then, they will only absorb enough water for their normal survival.

But, if there is less amount of water around them, then they absorb water till it fills all the space available in them.

So, in the second case if we place them in a tub of water they try to absorb all water and fill themself. Thus we could use them to absorb water and purify water (of all the salt and other unwanted particles in unpurified water).

Similarly, we also found that all the seeds we planted earlier, were now sprouting and might grow and give us mature vegetables in a few days.

Such a Growth speed was unheard of before the Apocalypse.

We were not sure if the final product will be useful as before or will there be any changes in the product that is yet to be known.

But, we were aware of one thing and that is there are already visible changes in our surroundings.

The dust in the air started to settle.

We could vaguely see the boundary of the barrier around the mountain.

There are fewer heavy objects found during fishing (with nets).

More and unknown varieties of fish started to show up in the nets.

Though there is no sitting of any bird so far, I could guess there might be more unfortunate as they don't have a way to survive such a disaster (Apocalypse).

We were not sure how long this silence will continue.

So, we started to set the mountain into a better and habitable shape.

I started to organize the survivors.

Some survivors with experience with growing plants and other learned survivors were grouped to study and take care of the saplings.

Some other survivors mostly with wounds and those with little strength were asked to take care of the new type of algae as they were our important and only source of fresh and pure water.

The algae were divided into two batches and given rest alternately.

This was to avoid their effectiveness coming down with over-exertion.

Those who were already assigned to help and take part in fishing were doing their task by alternating between fishing and rest (along with eating etc.)

The rest were not in the state to move around so they had to take rest till they recover from their injuries.

I have been thinking and trying to find ways to make things better by using all the knowledge from novels I read before and also any movies etc.

All I was sure of is that we are not going to live the same life as we used to do post-apocalypse.

We needed to change and adapt to the changing surroundings.

If we don't adapt to these changes then there is no chance to survive and live through to see the future.

Days passed in the same manner.

We could measure and note the passage of time only because there were a few mechanical watches (Non-digital watches).

Outside the barrier, we can see there is a thick layer of dust and we need to reach the surrounding to investigate it.

I think we need to wipe it like cleaning a glass window.

It's an assumption I made, that the dust settled on the barrier like that then is the barrier a physical or is it a force field-like existence that depends on the existence of the Floating Mountain.

Earth had a similar field (seems like it was a magnetic field), this field protected Earth from the asteroids and meteors that were passing through the surrounding of Earth in outer space.

Now Floating Mountain has a similar field it might even protect us and itself from any similar danger.

Finally today the first batch of vegetables was produced on the mountain.

The first batch of food produced after the Apocalypse.

We needed to test if these vegetables were edible or were they mutated due to changes in the environment.

Well, Post-Apocalypse scientists tested new food and similar things on animals like mice, etc.

I read similar things done in many Novels and they were effective means to identify whether anything was edible or not.

We didn't have that option. But we capture a few smaller fishers and feed them with pieces of these vegetables.

There were no abnormal reactions.

We even mixed them with water and made the algae consume them along with water and there was no abnormal reaction.

On top of that, the algae absorbed all the vegetable contents in water and started to multiply.

The algae after multiplication showed no abnormal behavior and were purifying the water as it did before multiplication.

The new algae were slowly growing and formed into a full shape which took about 3 hrs.

This rate of multiplication and time for maturing is abnormal but their functions are the same.

So, we concluded that the vegetables are safe to consume.

I tasted these new vegetables to see how they would be when compared to the ones before Apocalypse.

They tasted fresh and delicious, even without any spices, and cooking these vegetables can be eaten without any problem.

Not everyone would accept new things easily.

So, only a few ate these new vegetables.

We soon finished eating and started to plan the next course of action.

The seeds in the vegetables look the same (as before Apocalypse).

As I was thinking, I felt warm in my stomach.

Then there was this feeling of becoming stronger and better.

This sounds like a good thing, but after the feeling slowly grew paler till I couldn't feel any more.

I couldn't get a thought out of my mind, the thought of seeing a similar expression in someplace.

Yes, a similar expression as that seen in some novels, the same as those in some martial arts and cultivation novels.

Now I experienced the same feeling.

I went around, asking the survivors who ate the vegetables along with me.

They have also felt the same.

The degree of feeling varied depending on the quantity of vegetables eaten by them.

I wanted to experiment with it, but the first batch was already consumed and so I had to wait for the next batch.

My experiment was simple to give these vegetables to those who had injuries and see if they recovered quickly or at a faster rate of recovery.

I could only sit back and continue to organize my thoughts.

After some rest, I went back and organized a few survivors and went along to make a bridge of floating boulders to the barrier.

We worked hard and it seems like the work will be finished in less time compared to that of the plan.

More than half of the survivors taking part in the bridge-building were more energetic and more productive than the rest.

I observed that these energetic survivors are those who have eaten the new vegetables.

I continued to observe them while doing my work.

They seem to do more work than the others and seem less tired when doing the same work compared to others.

This continued throughout the work and we could finish the bridge a day earlier than expected.

I concluded that I must study these vegetables more in the future.

I can't wait for the next batch of vegetables to mature.

Will all new products of vegetables have the same effect?

Will it help us in facing the new challenges that await us?

Are these the so-called special vegetables mentioned in many novels? Or can I call them Spirit vegetables?

Hope that the next batch will be as good as this one...