The Cosmic Chronicle

Orlo Ternix Um, may I start? Uh, thanks for making time for me. Have you always swum here on Gravonia?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) *glances sideways, twisting through the airy water band* Actually? No, my school once hunted flux channels on Klymora. But Gravonia... Gravonia flows differently. Here you feel each reconstruction as a soft shockwave.
Orlo Ternix You mean... you adapt to the time currents here? Or is it really just muscle power?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) People always say time moves forward, but on Gravonia, time is wet. You have to struggle through it. Muscle helps if you swim against the stream, but it's the memories in the water that really push you along. *bubbly laugh*
Orlo Ternix Interesting! And what’s it like living under these bioluminescent pillars-does it affect your day?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Definitely! Each sunrise shoots green-blue light through my gills. It tingles my memory. Sometimes you even smell battles from ten reconstructions back.
Orlo Ternix Have you ever collided with a data cart or a patrol fish squad?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) *bursts out in a flood of laughter bubbles* Oh, more than once! The data carts are so fixated on their protocol they don't see a time curl until it's too late. Once, I was stuck for two hours in an archive sluice, all tangled in the roots.
Orlo Ternix What do you actually do all day-is there rhyme or reason in your routes, or do you just drift where you want?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Good question. I usually follow-um-the echoes of unprocessed battles. And sometimes, well, I just swim for fun, chase an energy tunnel or steal a soft memory off a smoke wall. *fins flapping*
Orlo Ternix Are you... ever afraid? Of those reconstruction waves, or, let’s say, patrols?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Yeah, wet fear is an art here. Reconstructions hit out of nowhere, pulling everything loose, even my anchors. But look, being afraid is also how you grow. Ugh, I sound like a mentor-fish...
Orlo Ternix *laughs* Is it true that time fish sometimes steal memories from others?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Stolen... that’s what people call it. *slow tail wave* For us, memory exchange is just greeting. Sometimes I swim past an archive fish and accidentally leave half a war in its gills.
Orlo Ternix Can humans actually communicate with you, or do we just hear bubbling?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Usually it sounds like bubbling, sorry. *splutters* But if you learn to listen with your skin, you feel the twists-that’s our language. Here on Gravonia, some grandmothers once could do it...
Orlo Ternix Does Gravonia feel like home to you? Or do you miss Klymora’s flux channels?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Mmm... Gravonia bites differently. Much rougher, much more stubborn. But yes, it’s home, because here every drop of memory is respected. In the flux channels, it’s all long evaporated.
Orlo Ternix So, uh, what’s the most legendary thing you’ve experienced since swimming here?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Oh! Stardate 4419.108-the rebirth of Warsola! I was sucked into the waves of epoxy marble. Dozens of reconstructions shot through my scales. All those shiny smoke walls-I grew three new time fins that day!
Orlo Ternix That sounds amazing! And, uh, has there ever been a day you regretted being a time fish?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Never! Oh wait-stardate 4420.222, I got trapped in a magnetic field grid during the annual observation parade. Embarrassing. But, look, regret is just a local current-you swim through it.
Orlo Ternix *looks up* Can you say something about the next reconstruction wave? Is there anything Gravonia should watch out for?
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Everyone’ll get soaked, that’s for sure! And, huh-watch out for pushy archive toads, they nibble at your timeline. But if you swim upright and keep your gills open, all will work out.
Orlo Ternix Honestly... This is the most inspiring conversation I’ve ever had! Really, I feel it right down to my bone data!
Gaxilon (Time Fish) *swims a spiral of gratitude* Now, you’re floating a bit in time too, Orlo! And hey... if you have vivid dreams tonight, pour them into some reconstruction water and maybe I’ll pop up.
Orlo Ternix This is... wow... legend-no, transcendent. Thank you so much, Gaxilon!
Gaxilon (Time Fish) Swim gently, Orlo. And remember: whoever follows Gravonia's currents always finds new memories.