Confusion

Another new danger associated with the world of light. There is a break in the endless border that pushes atmosphere out from it. Swarm parts have gone into this break to explore, and find that the atmosphere coming from it is even less pleasant than what fills the world already.

 

The danger comes from spending too much time there. The swarm learned this when two parts returned from the break in uncoordinated motion, causing it to fear that both parts were beginning to desync at the same time. But after some time in the ordinary atmosphere, the parts regained coordination and were able to join with the swarm again.

 

We hesitate to send in any more parts. Our experiment with searching for a source of food was more costly than it was worth, and exploring the break seems like it will be an equally loss-heavy venture.

 

What is strangest is that the tall animals appear to have no difficulty with going into the break with its damaging atmosphere. In fact they shed their protective outer skins before they enter, which should make them even more vulnerable to its bad effects, but they have never shown the slightest sign of clumsiness afterward.

 

Perhaps it's worth studying these tall animals more closely. They very often carry objects around, even when they are in the atmosphere, and it may be some of these objects that prevent them from getting damaged.

 

...Have we become too impatient? It took many hundreds of series to overcome the parts' dependence on atmosphere enough to explore the world of light. We should let the swarms proceed cautiously with determining which parts have more tolerance for the atmosphere in the break.