The account of the preparations for "...the mission to Earth" is a "...myth..." (Genesis, p. 103) because:
the node and its manifestation have identities instantly recognizable to each other but do not need names;
they exchange information without requiring speech, discussion or explanation;
they have not as yet even separated into distinct individuals.
Therefore, the omniscient, or at least very well informed, narrator rather clumsily advises us to think of them as named entities in dialogue.
"...the galactic brain was in perpetual growth, which from a cosmic viewpoint had barely started." (p. 102)
We would like to read about its maturity but Poul Anderson was pushing the limits of what even he could imagine and even more "myth" would have become necessary.
"I have not discovered an America but I have discovered a Columbus."
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