On an ascendant level its mind was observing the planet below through the ships sensor faculty. Unimeron was remarkably similar to a terracompatible world, with broad blue oceans and vast white cloud swirls, the poles home to smallish ice-caps. The visual difference was provided by the continents; they were a near-uniform green, even the mountain ranges had been consumed by the vegetation layer. No piece of land was wasted.
Vast blue-green cobweb structures hung in orbit, slightly below the ships thousand-kilometre altitude. These were the skyhavens, most two hundred kilometres in diameter, some greater, rotating once every five or more hours, not for artificial gravity but simply to maintain shape. They were alive, conscious with vibrant mentalities, greater than that of a spaceholm even. A combination of spaceport and magnetosphere energy node, with manufacturing modules clumped around the hub like small bulbous tangerine barnacles. But the physical facets were just supplementary to their intellectual function. They formed an important aspect of the planets life-harmony, smoothing and weaving the separate continental essence thoughts into a single unified planetwide gestalt. Mental communication satellites, though they contributed to the gestalt as well, sang to distant stars. That voice was beyond Ione completely, both its message and its purpose, registering as just a vague cadence on the threshold of perception. She felt a little darker for its absence, the Laymil shipmaster considered it magnificent.
The skyhavens were packed close together, with small variants in altitude, allowing them to slide along their various orbital inclinations without ever colliding. No segment of the planets sky was ever left open. It was an amazing display of navigational exactitude. From a distance it looked as though someone had cast a net around Unimeron. She tried to gauge the effort involved in their growth, a planet-girdling structure, and failed. Even for a species with such obvious biotechnology and engineering supremacy the skyhavens were an awesome achievement.
Departure initiation forthcoming,the shipmaster called.
Venture boldness reward,the skyhaven essence replied. Anticipate hope.
Unimerons terminator was visible now, blackness biting into the planet. Nightside continents were studded with bright green lightpoints, smaller than human cities, and very regular. One southern continent, curving awkwardly around the planets mass away from the ships sensors, had delicate streamers of phosphorescent red mist meandering along its coastal zones with exploratory tendrils creeping further inland. The edges were visibly palpitating like the fringes of a terrestrial jellyfish as they curled and flowed around surface features, yet all the while retaining a remarkable degree of integrity. There was none of the braiding or churning of ordinary clouds. Ione considered the effect quite delightful, the mist looked alive, as though the air currents were infected with biofluorescent spoors.
But the Laymil shipmaster was physically repelled by the sight. Galheith clan essence asperity woe.his heads bobbed around in agitation, letting out low hoots of distress. Woe. Folly acknowledgement request.
No relention,the skyhaven essence answered sadly.
As their orbits took them over the continent, the skyhavens would hum in dismay. The life-harmony of Unimeron was being disrupted, with the skyhavens refusing to disseminate the Galheith clan essence into the gestalt. It was too radical, too antagonistic. Too different. Alien and antithetical to the harmony ethos that had gone before.
A tiny flare of sharp blue-white light sprang out of the red mist, dying down quickly.
Reality dysfunction,the shipmaster called in alarm.
Confirm.
Horror woe. Galheith research death essence tragedy.
Concord.
Impetuosity woe release. Reality dysfunction exponential. Prime lifehost engulfed fear.
Reality dysfunction counter. Spaceholm constellation prime essence continuation hope.
Confirm. Hope carriage.the shipmaster quickly reviewed the other Laymil hibernating in the nest-wombs; both mental traits converging for the evaluation. Essencemasters condition satisfactory. Hope reality dysfunction defeat. Hope Galheith atonement.
Hope joined. Rejoice unity commitment.
Where the flare of light had sprung, the jungle was now alight. Ione realized the glimmer of orange must be a firestorm easily over ten kilometres wide.
The spaceship was crossing the terminator. Skyhavens ahead glowed a fragile platinum as the Van Allen radiation belt particles gusted across their web strands.
Departure initiation,the shipmaster announced. Ionized fuel was fired into the fusion drives magnetic pinch. A jet of plasma slowly built up. Information streamed into the Laymils brain, equations were performed, instructions were pushed into the nest-wombs neurons and the coincident hardwares circuits. There was never any doubt, any self-questioning. The terms did not apply.
Unimeron began to shrink behind the ship. The shipmaster focused his attention on the spaceholm constellation, and the frail song of welcome it emitted, so much quieter than the prime lifehosts joyous spirit.
And the memory expired.
Ione blinked free of the stubbornly persistent, green-polluted images. Emotions and sensations were harder to discard.
What is a reality dysfunction? she asked. The shipmaster seemed frightened half to death by it.
We dont know, Parker Higgens said. There has never been any reference to it in any of the other memories.
Ione Saldana, I believe the term reality dysfunction refers to a massive malevolent violation within the Laymil life-harmony essence, Lieria said. The nature of the Galheith clan was being radically altered by it. However, the impression conveyed by the memory is that it is more than a mental reorientation, it also incorporated a distortion within the local physical matrix. Example: the energy flare.
It was a weapon? She shot a tense glance at the two astronomers.
Kempster scratched at his shadow of stubble. That flare definitely started a fire, so I would have to say yes. But one forest fire is a little different from something which can cause a planet to vanish.
If it went on to spread through the entire planets life essence, as seems more than likely, Malandra Sarker said, then it would have Unimerons entire technical resources at its disposal. Placed on a war footing, a race like that would have a frightening armaments-production wherewithal.
I disagree, Renato Vella said. Granted they could build fleets of ships, and hundreds of thousands of nukes, probably antimatter too. But they are not that much further advanced than us. I still maintain the energy required to destroy a planet is beyond this level of technology.
I was just thinking of the Alchemist,ione said to Tranquillity. She was almost afraid to mention it in case Lieria could intercept the thought. What was it Captain Khanna said? One idea in a lifetime is all it takes. The Laymil might not have had the initial physical resources, but what about the mental potential of a planetary mind devoted to weapons design?
The possibility is an alarming one,tranquillity agreed. But why would they turn it on themselves?
Good question.even if they built a weapon, why would they turn it on themselves?
The group regarded her with puzzled facesa child innocently flooring adult logic with a simple question. Then Renato Vella smiled suddenly. Weve been assuming it was destroyed, how about if they just moved it instead?