Edges (Linda Nagata) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги

SEVENTH

A single needle, lacking self-awareness, rides on unseen vectors that draw it irresistibly toward the massive bulk of the lead starship.

The hull looms, a vast, glowing plain. The frictionless needle passes through this outer barrier without resistance; it slides meters deep into the bio-active tissue beneath. Obedient to its simple programming, it shape shifts, extruding hooks that roughen its surface and abruptly stop its descent.

It monitors the temperature of the surrounding tissue as the steam generated by the friction of deceleration dissipates. Microseconds pass.

Then it shape-shifts again.

Its outer skin opens and it releases an initial payload: Nanotech devices that consume the host tissue, drawing energy from it as they begin to build.