The atom X is phosphorus because it goes through many of the same things as phosphorus in a cycle does. One problem with phosphorus is that there is none of it in the atmosphere. This means that its cycle all occurs through the ground, producers, decomposers, and water. Other known things are that phosphorus is released from the weathering of rocks, it is absorbed by producers through its roots, phosphorus moves up the food chain as consumers eat the producers, and decomposers obtain phosphorus as they feed on dead remains of animals and it is released as waste. Phosphorus also gets into bodies of water when it combines with run-off water. In Aldo Leopold’s Odyssey, the X atom goes through a series of cycles until it finally reaches the sea.