Hastú and Friends

S1E2. Eat, Wear, and Live

1.

Hastú began to observe and study tirelessly on mycelium. He indulged in unexplainable attraction of mycelium and felt alive throughout the process of understanding and building knowledge around them. Since there was nothing else to do in this wide forest, it was rather a good environment for continuous exploration. 

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Its physiology looked quite simple, but at the same time mycelium had enough complexities that were difficult to generalize. There seemed to be thousands of different kinds of them, and the characteristics, growth speed, spreading pattern and many other features differed to each other. They were obviously silent but Hastú couldn't deny that he felt some sort of muted communication going back and forth along their millions of woven threads. And it was surprising to see that they continued to grow even in an environment where there seemed to be no adequate nutrition for them to take.

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However, Hastú's confidence got stronger and so did his belief to master this substance. Hastú is someone who never seeks for his share. Instead, he prefers to have the largest range of knowledge and leverage it to guide people to the way he believes is correct.

'I will learn every bit of mycelium'

'I will figure out how to turn them into things that we need, we want'

'I will conquer this creature mycelium.'

His research continued day and night.

2.

"Look, I made a brick."

Friends gathered around Hastú.

There really was a brick-shaped object in Hastu's hand, and its hardness was as strong as that of a brick. After collecting sawdust in a brick shape, Hastú inoculated fungi over it, then the strands of mycelium, which grew up like threads, started to tangle densely inside and around the sawdust lump. As the strength of mycelia threads were unexpectedly strong, it was no surprise that the brick-like object was almost unbreakable.

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"Can we use it as a pillow?"

"It's a brick, so we can build a house, right?"

"What about brick roads? I hate walking on muddy ground"

"Why don't we build a tower to climb up and look far away?"

Each friend was busy coming up with ideas on how to use this mycelium brick.

Everyone was surprised and delighted that mycelium, which was thought only as food, could be used for something so distinctive from food yet still very practical for their lives.

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That was not the end.

After learning how to grow mycelium inflated like bread, Hastú quickly figured out how to press them very thinly by which the mycelium becomes materials like textile or leather.

His friends made clothes out of them.

It was also used for blankets and even for hammocks.

Some friends wrote on it like using it as a piece of paper. 

3.

"It would have been terrible without Hastú!"

"Hastú is a genius!"

"Let's give Hastú a round of applause!"

cried friends.

It was Hastú who made everything necessary for them, to eat, wear, and sleep.

•

Hastú smiled quietly.

He was proud to be able to give hope to his friends.

His research overcame the moment of discouragement, in an unfamiliar place where all of them lost their memory, and let them free from the fear.

But Hastú had no intention of stopping here.

He greeted the applause of his friends lightly and returned to his studies.

The friends were still excited and started enjoying an untimely festival.

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But under the ground the mood was somewhat totally opposite - if mycelium had feelings they would have had some sort of indifferent or bored expression on their faces, just like watching the same movie over a million times. Being unperturbed, regardless of what was happening among Hastú and his friends, mycelium was just growing and spreading out as usual, silently.