Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 338 The Inheritor

You have been learning from those two older squirrels for quite some time.

You've noticed your foraging efficiency is improving, and you're choosing fuller, riper fruits. You're incorporating these experiences into your behavioral patterns.

Your choice is—

First, continue learning from the two older squirrels, accumulating more experience until you fully understand their behavioral patterns.

Second, begin to pass on your learned experience to younger squirrels in the group, starting your practice of knowledge transfer.

[Third, begin seeking opportunities to establish connections with the other two squirrels, exploring the possibility of transitioning from two squirrels to three.]

After thinking about it, he chose the second path.

You choose to begin passing on your knowledge and experience to younger squirrels in the group, starting your legacy practice.

You notice a young squirrel in the group, wandering among the branches of a tree canopy, searching for suitable fruit to gather.

But its gaze lingered between the fruits, as if in hesitation.

You approached it, but instead of rushing to teach it, you chose to squat down on a nearby branch and began to gather the fruit in front of you at a normal pace, your movements unhurried, neither deliberately slowing down nor speeding up.

The young squirrel noticed you. It paused for a moment, then began to observe your movements.

It observes how you judge the ripeness of the fruit, how you choose the most effortless angle to pick it, and how you adjust your center of gravity after picking to prevent the branch from bending excessively.

It's starting to mimic your movements, albeit clumsily, but it's learning from them.

You are passing on your experience in a way that younger generations can absorb, providing them with the examples they need when they need them.

He continued to move forward in the group, and a stable observer-observed relationship had been established with the younger squirrel.

He noticed that its movements were gradually becoming smoother, and its efficiency in selecting fruits was also increasing. With a precision that was being honed by time, it was moving forward along the path he had taken.

He also began to notice other young squirrels.

They are distributed in different areas of the tree canopy; some are patrolling the boundaries, some are gathering fruit, and some are resting near the entrance of the nest, maintaining a certain distance from each other.

He participated in the information exchange among the young squirrels, established connections with them through shared actions, sat with them on the same branch during rest, and confirmed each other's presence through shared habitual movements.

You have established a connection with the young squirrels in the group and are working alongside them.

You perceive your presence as you integrate into the group's information network, not just as a receiver, but also beginning to pass on your accumulated experience to younger squirrels.

You are becoming a node in a group; some information is flowing through you to other individuals, and some information is also flowing to you through other individuals.

Your territory's boundaries have now merged with the group's territory boundaries.

You have fully integrated into the group's information network.

The group moved steadily among the tree canopy, adjusting its pace in sync with the changing seasons.

The color of the leaves is changing from dark green to a deeper hue, the ripening cycle of the fruit is slowly shifting backward, and the frequency of the wind is also subtly shifting.

His position has stabilized, and he is becoming a trustworthy information node within the group.

"The group needs more reserves." The two older squirrels conveyed this signal to it during a brief morning exchange.

Its tail tip points to a distant, unexplored area of ​​the canopy, where a patch of branches remains unexplored, still bearing fruit.

"Over there?" Zhu Ge moved in that direction, passing through the branches of several layers of tree canopy, and found a patch of fruit in the new area that had not yet been picked, and was being harvested at a steady pace.

You are expanding your group's foraging range.

You are becoming an extension of the group.

Two more squirrels in the group approach you, their movements synchronized, their tails swaying slightly as they get closer, inviting you to engage in deeper interaction.

Its posture differs from other squirrels in the group; it is more open and actively seeking opportunities to establish contact.

It's also like two squirrels; you sense each other's presence.

Your choice is—

[First, accept its invitation, engage in deeper contact with it, and explore the possibility of transitioning from two squirrels to three.]

Second, maintain the existing distance and continue independent exploration and gathering.

Third, while maintaining existing contact, conduct synchronized and coordinated foraging activities with it, starting with joint actions to build a deeper connection.

He sensed the posture of the two squirrels.

It neither rushed to approach nor kept its distance; the tip of its tail was slightly raised, sending him a clear signal of its presence.

He chose the third approach, starting with joint action to build deeper connections.

[You choose to maintain existing contact while engaging in synchronized foraging activities with it, starting with joint actions to build a deeper bond.]

You move parallel to the branch, maintaining a pace that matches its position and rhythm.

You gather fruit in the same area, rest on the same branches, and adjust your paces to match each other through repeated synchronized actions.

Your actions are gradually synchronizing, and the connection between you is becoming wider and wider.

The relationship between you two is gradually deepening.

The simulation continues to move forward.

He noticed deeper connections among the older individuals in the group.

They share a more sophisticated information network than the younger generation.

He is transitioning from a group of squirrels to a more complete individual capable of forming deeper connections with another two squirrels.

The relationship between you has reached a sufficient depth; your actions are completely synchronized, allowing you to coordinate your movements without giving any signals.

Your sensory domains are overlapping, forming a shared sensory system.

The connection between you has been established.

You are becoming one of the Three Squirrels.

Become!

Three Squirrels!

Zhu Ge was deeply shaken.

As that connection formed at the tip of his tail, he felt his range of perception expand in a way he had never experienced before.

Two and three visual fields coexist in his perception, three tactile sensations coexist, and three breathing rhythms are approaching the same frequency.

You are becoming one of the Three Squirrels.

Your perception range continues to expand, enabling you to cover more distant areas.

Your movements are synchronized enough that you can coordinate your directions and speeds without making a sound.

You have successfully transitioned from two squirrels to three squirrels.

The simulation slowed down here.

The group is moving steadily among the tree canopy, operating in a more orderly manner than before.

Because each member in the group plays a stabilizing role in their own position.

A new season is approaching, and a new cycle is about to begin.

As one of the Three Squirrels, you have established a complete cycle of information and energy with the group.

You are no longer an isolated part of the group; you are becoming an integral part of the group itself.

You have become a mature Three Squirrels in this canopy, capable of fulfilling a more comprehensive role within the group and sharing your experience over a wider area.

You are growing old, but your existence is transcending the boundaries of individual lifespan and continuing through the community.

]

Your existence has become a source of inspiration for the other young squirrels in the group; they learn from you, gravitate towards you, and heed your teachings.

really!

Zhu Ge felt a little more relaxed.

Based on the current situation, this simulation is very likely to enable the selection of unique traits.

Then let's continue!

Zhu Ge squatted on the thickest branch, looking down at the squirrels moving about below.

His position is at the highest point of the tree canopy, where the branches are thicker and can bear more weight than in other areas.

Sunlight streamed down from behind him, casting three long, thin shadows on the bark of the tree in front of him.

All three squirrels are him; that's the wonder of this species.

To some extent, Zhu Ge felt that this form could develop into a civilization similar to that of humans.

Of course, there are too many factors that constrain the development of civilization.

However, none of this concerns him.

He had been sitting there for a long time, so long that the young squirrels had gotten used to his presence.

So long that they would slow down as they passed by, gently brushing the surface of the branch where he was crouching with the tip of their tails, as if to confirm their presence to him.

He is becoming one of the oldest individuals in the group.

The young squirrels are acting in the way he learned from the older squirrels.

When they gather fruit, they first smell the fruit and choose the plumpest and ripest ones.

When patrolling the border, they will choose more efficient routes and not waste unnecessary energy in areas that have been confirmed to be safe.

They choose drier and more stable locations when storing food.

He is seeing his own experience continue in their behavior.

You have become one of the oldest individuals in the group, and your existence is being recognized, learned, and continued by the younger generation.

You notice a young squirrel perched on a branch about two feet below you, its gaze fixed on you.

It is observing your posture and movements, like a behavioral template being learned, incorporating your way of being into its own behavioral patterns.

Your experience is being passed on.

You notice that the squirrels around you are adjusting their behavior based on you, passing on your accumulated experience to younger individuals in the group in a more efficient way.

Your presence within the group is transitioning from an individual life to collective memory, much like an experience existing as a group rather than a life existing as an individual.

Your choice is—

[First, continue to remain active within the group, consistently participating in foraging, patrolling, and information exchange to pass on experiences to the younger generation in a more direct way.]

Second, gradually reduce direct participation in group actions, and spend more time observing and guiding, allowing the younger generation to develop their abilities through independent action and explore paths already trodden in their own way.

Third, focus attention on the most promising young individuals in the group, providing them with more in-depth training and leaving behind a reusable framework of experience for the group's future, rather than leaving them to grope in the dark alone.

Zhu Ge chose to focus her attention on the few young individuals with the most potential in the group.

Further nurturing them can leave behind a framework of experience that can be repeatedly used for the future of the group.

The world's progress is not driven by the majority, but by a small number or even a very small number of individuals.

You choose to focus your attention on a few of the most promising young individuals in the group, nurturing them more deeply and leaving behind a framework of experience that can be repeatedly used for the group's future.

You begin to consciously pay more attention to a few specific young individuals in your daily activities.

When gathering fruit, you will choose routes similar to theirs; when patrolling the border, you will maintain a distance where you can observe them; and when resting, you will share the same branch with them.

You demonstrate selective behavior in front of them, sometimes it's the skill of choosing fruit, sometimes it's how to judge the weight-bearing capacity of a branch, and sometimes it's a strategy for adjusting your pace under different weather conditions.

[You demonstrate only one specific behavior at a time, allowing them to observe and imitate your sequence of actions in its entirety, rather than picking up fragmented experiences from chaotic actions.]

They are adjusting their behavior based on you. Your behavioral patterns are being perpetuated among the younger generation, like a river that, even after branching, maintains its original flow, carrying nutrients from its source to more distant tributaries.

You are leaving behind a reusable framework of experience for the group.

This period lasted for a considerable time, so long that Zhu Ge no longer needed to consciously calculate the speed at which those days were passing.

He sensed the marks the seasons left on the tree canopy; each change in the color of the leaves left an ever-deepening imprint on his perception.

Those young squirrels are gradually growing into stable members of the group.

Some have already become two squirrels, some are approaching the state of two squirrels, and some, although still a single squirrel, have learned how to establish connections with other individuals in the group.

They are moving along the path he once walked, approaching the place he has already reached in a guided manner.

Until Zhu Ge noticed that one of the squirrels was growing at a rate similar to that of him when he was young.

"This is... the successor?"