Because communication is by radio, Zero overhears a conversation a hundred miles away.
Spoor is broken earthcrystals, slabs cut from boles and "...a trace of lubricant." (p. 178)
Zero strides whereas his prey will be on treads. Checking himself, he finds that his parts are in order. His body has a swivelling lattice, a head and four hands. In the night sky, he sees stars with his optical sensors and hears radio internally.
The forest through which he strides is alloy, silicate, radiation-absorber plates, trunks, girders and jointed rods. Zero taps lubricant from a cylinder growth, thins his acid by drinking water and pauses to allow polarization in his energy cells to clear away.
Something mysterious comes from above. We guess that a spaceship approaches and that Zero is about to meet organic intelligences.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
This is certainly not a terrestrial planet we would think was habitable!
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment