The maturation of the human mobile unit was complete.
It was now a time of reproduction, and the human mobile unit, or HMU, had to find a proper partner for the fertilization process. The HMU exists in both sexes, having male and female gametes, respectively. Our attention is on the male HMU.The adapted human body was equipped with a thick keratin layer to avoid UV radiation, but the old concrete remains of the demised civilization still existed in the form of building carcasses and new underground architecture. For now, the only problem that humanity faces is the need to find nutrients and survive the harsh conditions of an acidified planet.
Being a mobile unit is complicated—you cannot have a form that gains nothing from the soil. Mobile units evolved to prevent inbreeding and to locate genetically compatible HIUs across hostile territory.
The human immobile unit, or HIU, looks like a formless blob of tissue and blood vessels. It can have ova of different genetic types or spermatozoids, depending on the partner. They have a rich blood network that leads deep into the earth, and a special endothelial layer that filters nutrients and extracts non-acidified water. They can be fully independent by having a symbiosis with a special fungus to produce carbohydrates.
For now, our mature HMU was scavenging through the terrain with great effort, for the mud had almost swallowed him whole. But the mud was important—it contained chemical signals that led to a matured female HIU. Every ovum had a special chemical signature. The mud was full of them, but there was one that struck the receptors of the male HMU in such a way that the part of his brain responsible for reproduction could produce the required hormones.
It was love at first chemical bonding.
The beautiful music of connection sang within the oxygen molecules afterward. That is no joke—for when those receptors are triggered, the ear chamber begins to produce vibrations equivalent to that chemical signal, ensuring that no other male HMU fertilizes the same ovum.
But it was too late.
It appeared that another HMU had caught the same pheromone and created the same vibration pattern. That would be the end of him, the male HMU thought.
“What do you think you are doing?!” he screamed.
“That’s none of your business.”
“What did you say, boy?!”
“You heard me. I’m going to hit that ovum, and you can’t stop me.”
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that—I will tear your spine out!”
“Come and get it then, boy!”
That was it. The last straw—or in this case, spine.
The mud became a battlefield of two HMUs trying to kill each other. They used teeth, fists, kicks, and simple mud-wallowing. It was hard to do with all those armoured layers of skin, but it was done—and the spine was out.
There was no time to celebrate, for the beloved was waiting.
The building had a roof that covered the enormous glob. And she was beautiful—almost transparent. The ova were located near the soil, secreting their signatures.
He found her—that special ovum that made him “sing” the strongest. The ovum sensed the signal and responded with a surge of chemicals. She swirled within her compartment, synchronizing with the frequency he produced, indicating her preference.
Time was running out, and a special womb structure was synthesized on the spot. The process of fertilization is quite long, but eventually, a zygote will appear. What type of human it will be—no one knows.
As he finished, he saw a female HMU looking for a male HIU. She was well-built, with red hair and glistening armor. But it was not the same, he thought.
She didn’t make him sing right.
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