The Colony pulled itself together inside the station. Fires flickered around it, and it detected millions of undirected Components drifting around. The Core reached out, attempting to reach another Core.
The Core failed. There had been three Colonies dedicated to the station. One Core was nearby, its death-signal being broadcast by all its components. The undirected ones were from the third Colony, which indicated that its Core had either been destroyed too rapidly to transmit a death-signal or removed from the vicinity.
The Core failed. There had been three Colonies dedicated to the station. One Core was nearby, its death-signal being broadcast by all its components. The undirected ones were from the third Colony, which indicated that its Core had either been destroyed too rapidly to transmit a death-signal or removed from the vicinity.
It reached out to the Conquered Core. That was the item they had fought so hard to defend. It was the single most important item in all of the New Space.
Never before had the Clade found life such as themselves. Even this was not like them totally-it was merely a Core, and did not have Components to form a Colony. But it was closer to them than the infections it had cleansed from the stars around this place.
The Colony was done reassembling, its Core surrounded by enough of its Components to operate. The Core transmitted a signal to the Components of the other two cores, attempting to claim them.
They did not react. The Core transmitted again, a signal intended to override all previous commands.
There was no reaction. It transmitted again. And again. And again.
Colonies of the Clade are not capable of dealing with a failure in their Core. The Components are easily replaceable. The Colony, however, is merely an extension of the Core. The Core is an intricate item, practically irreparable. One of the most advanced supercomputers ever developed, only the Clade even remotely understands their workings. They are easily broken, and impossible to repair-their workings are to complex on the quantum level to be fully understood. A broken Core may spontaneously regain functionality, or a working one may suddenly decohere, becoming worthless.
The sole remaining Colony aboard the Kynak-Kapteyn relay had had its core damaged. The firefight onboard the station, and the actual fires it had ignited, had caused it to shut down in a last-ditch effort to save itself.
The Core continued transmitting. It was prepared to do so indefinitely. It drew energy from background Ansibilic forces, so it could function until the end of time for all intents and purposes.
A Clade ship dropped out of Foldspace by the Relay several dozen Core Time Units later. The Colony picked up on the ships presence immediately, noting the presence of over a dozen other Cores. When the ship docked, in the same port where the strange infected ship had been berthed, the Core redoubled its efforts to be noticed.
A Colony came aboard, sliding in, its Core nestled in among thousands of Components, sliding along the floor. The first Core gathered its own Components in, rising up, to demonstrate that it was still functional.
The new core reached out a tendril of Components, and they touched. Information passed between them, purely electrical, being passed through primitive methods from one Core to another.
¿Connection established.
Never before had the Clade found life such as themselves. Even this was not like them totally-it was merely a Core, and did not have Components to form a Colony. But it was closer to them than the infections it had cleansed from the stars around this place.
The Colony was done reassembling, its Core surrounded by enough of its Components to operate. The Core transmitted a signal to the Components of the other two cores, attempting to claim them.
They did not react. The Core transmitted again, a signal intended to override all previous commands.
There was no reaction. It transmitted again. And again. And again.
Colonies of the Clade are not capable of dealing with a failure in their Core. The Components are easily replaceable. The Colony, however, is merely an extension of the Core. The Core is an intricate item, practically irreparable. One of the most advanced supercomputers ever developed, only the Clade even remotely understands their workings. They are easily broken, and impossible to repair-their workings are to complex on the quantum level to be fully understood. A broken Core may spontaneously regain functionality, or a working one may suddenly decohere, becoming worthless.
The sole remaining Colony aboard the Kynak-Kapteyn relay had had its core damaged. The firefight onboard the station, and the actual fires it had ignited, had caused it to shut down in a last-ditch effort to save itself.
The Core continued transmitting. It was prepared to do so indefinitely. It drew energy from background Ansibilic forces, so it could function until the end of time for all intents and purposes.
A Clade ship dropped out of Foldspace by the Relay several dozen Core Time Units later. The Colony picked up on the ships presence immediately, noting the presence of over a dozen other Cores. When the ship docked, in the same port where the strange infected ship had been berthed, the Core redoubled its efforts to be noticed.
A Colony came aboard, sliding in, its Core nestled in among thousands of Components, sliding along the floor. The first Core gathered its own Components in, rising up, to demonstrate that it was still functional.
The new core reached out a tendril of Components, and they touched. Information passed between them, purely electrical, being passed through primitive methods from one Core to another.
¿Connection established.
.Connection established.
.Report state.
.Components Functional. Core incapable of non-direct communication.
.Irreparable. ¿Core requires termination.
.Negative. .Core requires direct communication.
¿What information.
.Conquered Core.
¿Where located.
.Unknown.
.Detail.
.Fought infection. .Took station. .Took Core. .Fought new infection. .Lost Core.
¿Continue information.
.transmitfiledimensionsinfectionship.
¿Continue information.
.Negative.
¿Core requires termination.
.Affirmative.
.Stand by. .transmitfilecoretermination.