Heaven's Reach (David Brin) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги

PART FIVE. THE TIME OF CHANGES

SOME LIFE ORDERS are more communicative than others.

MEMBERS of the Quantum Order have no sense of either place or time. At least, none corresponding with the way we view those properties. Though willing to exchange information, they generally make no sense of our queries, nor do we comprehend most of their answers. There must be some commonality of context in order for the word “meaning” to have any significance. Compared to the Quantum Order, it is almost trivial to converse with hydrogen breathers, machines, or even the most coherent sapient memes.

Once, however, a member of the touvint client race presumptuously interrupted its elders at a D-Space rendezvous, and confronted one of the quantals with a naively simple question.

“WHAT can we expect?”

THE answer has puzzled scholars for a million years. Without hesitation, the strange being replied—

“EVERYTHING.”