On the distant planet Vita-pulchra-est, the oceans were more clear than crystal and filled with life that glowed softly beneath the surface. Light from the pale golden star above the planet reached the depths of the water, turning the sea into a prism of shifting and colors. Elaborate forests of plants that resembled fluorescent coral stretched across the ocean floor while long ribbons of extraterrestrial plants swayed rhythmically in the gentle currents.

One of those coral-like plants glowed a bright purple. It had lived quietly within the forest for many years. It grew with a small rainbow cluster of other coral attached to a large porous stone. Its long branches shimmered with a faint iridescent glow, steadfast with little movement against the tender current. Miniature alien oceanic creatures often swam through its branches, weaving in and out of its loops and twists like children on the playground, while glowing plankton drifted past like tiny floating stars.

The plant just grew, no thoughts passed through it during its time. It simply existed, absorbing light and various nutrients through its skin from the water. The plant's time passed without meaning, like a floating rock in space. Days and nights came and went, marked only by the changing light reflecting through the ocean’s surface. One early morning when the light began to paint the water with colors, something unusual drifted through the water.

A small sphere, no larger than a pebble, drifted down slowly from above. It glowed with a faint pulsing blue light and eventually settled into the deep purple crook of a bend in one of the branches of the plant. This sphere was nothing special, it simply joined the oceanic scene. The ocean remained steady pushing its currents along their way, and the plant continued its quiet life. Then the sphere stopped pulsing and for a second it was lost in the crook. A bright light appeared from the stone and began to spread light through the branches, across the ocean's water.

A soft ripple of energy spread outward through the water. It passed underneath the surface of the sand, vibrated the nearby coral, and turned the purple plant into a blue light. Deep inside the plant, something began to change.

The cells that once simply gathered light started shifting in new ways. They divided and rearranged themselves, forming structures the plant had never needed or thought of before. The plant loosened its grip on the stone and slowly pulled free from the ocean floor.

The long branches curled inward, folding toward one another. The glowing strands thickened and shortened, shaping themselves into something more solid. For the first time in its existence, the being felt a strange sensation moving through it. Awareness. It did not yet understand what it was feeling, but it noticed the cool water surrounding its body and the colors shimmering in the ocean. It sensed the gentle push of the current. Light from above suddenly seemed brighter, warmer, and more important.

It paused, surprised. For the first time, it realized it could move at will. The small amphibian tried, kicking its webbed feet gently to swim. This time it glided farther through the water, passing the stone where its roots had once been attached. The world felt enormous compared to the tiny patch of ocean it had known before.

Curiosity grew inside its new mind. Everything was new. Everything was beautiful. What had once been a silent plant rooted to stone had become a small conscious creature exploring the world of Vita-pulchra-est for the very first time.