![]() Evidently it had dropped to its knees, revealing a patch of dim blue sky where the stars had begun to come out behind it. Then the height of the being in front of the formation was cut in half, so it was roughly even with the formation. By the time the ant climbed back out onto the slick black surface, it had gained an overall impression of the shape of the troughs: “1.” At each end was a short, thinner trough: a horizontal base from which the main trough rose, and an upper trough that extended at an angle. It followed the trough, for its roughness made for a far easier climb. At the same time, the ant encountered a long trough, a depression in the surface of the formation with a rougher texture and different color: off-white. Then another vibration, weak but intensifying, told the ant that a second living being of the same sort was moving toward the formation. Then the being gently placed the flowers in front of the formation. Down below, the spider encountered one such exception when the being, which had evidently noticed its web reaching between the formation and the ground, whisked away the spider and web with the stems of a bundle of flowers it held in one limb, causing them to land broken in a pile of weeds. The ant continued its climb, knowing that the beings were not a threat, with a few exceptions. It knew that they were alive, that they frequently appeared in this region, and that their appearances were closely related to the swiftly disappearing chasms and multiplying formations. The ant was not unfamiliar with beings of this sort. It was far taller than the ant and blotted out most of the sky. The giant being had reached the formation. The vibrations crescendoed and then stopped. Each knew of the other’s presence but-as it had been for eons-there was no communication. It carefully detoured around the sticky hanging strands, passing by the spider lying in wait, its legs extended to feel for vibrations in the threads. At the right angle where the foot of the formation met the ground, there was a spider web. Paying it no mind, the ant continued its climb up the formation. The ant sensed vibrations in the ground and knew from how they intensified that another giant presence was approaching from somewhere on the ground. ![]() The turbulence was purposeless, but in huge quantities of purposeless turbulence, purpose took shape. Turbulence was everywhere, within every blade of grass, every drop of dew on a leaf, every cloud in the sky, and every star beyond. Noting that the surface was hard and slippery, yet still climbable, up it went, with no purpose in mind but the random turbulence of its simple neural network. The ant arrived at the foot of the formation, sensing its indomitable presence with its feelers. Its return visit was only a chance passing while searching for food. Under the setting sun, the ant and hundreds of its brethren had carried off the surviving queen to establish a new empire. ![]() Such things happened frequently throughout this vast domain, the soil flying away and returning, chasms opening up and being filled, and rock formations appearing like visible markers of each catastrophic change. At one end of the disturbed earth stood a lone black formation. Soil had taken flight, leaving a broad and deep chasm, and then soil had come crashing down to fill it back in. In days now forgotten, its world had been overturned. To the twilight Earth and the stars that were just coming out, the span of time may have been negligible, but, for the ant, it was eons. The brown ant had already forgotten its home. Zhuang Yan - Graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Artsīen Jonathan - Fleet Joint Conference special commissionerĭongfang Yanxu - Captain of Natural Selection Keiko Yamasuki - Neuroscientist Hines’s wife Manuel Rey Diaz - Former president of Venezuelaīill Hines - English neuroscientist former president of the EU Secretary General Say - Secretary general of the UNįrederick Tyler - Former US secretary of defense Shi Qiang - PDC security department officer, nicknamed Da Shi Miao Fuquan - Shanxi coal boss neighbor to Zhang and Yang Yang Jinwen - Retired middle school teacher in Beijing Zhang Yuanchao - Recently retired chemical plant worker in Beijing George Fitzroy - US general coordinator at the Planetary Defense Council military liaison to Hubble II project Zhang Beihai - Political commissar in the PLA Navy Space Force officerĬhang Weisi - General in the PLA Space Force commander Mike Evans - ETO financial backer and key leader SFJC - Solar Fleet Joint Conference CAST OF CHARACTERS Chinese names are written with surname first. To read this book as the author intended – and for a fuller reading experience – turn on ‘original’ or ‘publisher’s font’ in your text display options.
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