Ahead Full

The parallel containment mesh began to expand outward as additional small flows of soup and dimpled packages of containment mesh continued along the soup network. While I might not have a choice in the direction if follow, I have been able to choose the passage through which I've travelled, and that makes this some kind of a network.

While I was stuck in the stream of Paired Eights, I barely noticed the continued disappearance of the Eight-Six-Eights, and now, when I do scan for their absence pattern, I get few hits. There are still a goodly number of ringlets and the occasional Seven-Six-Six component or three floating here or there, but for the most part, the scanning distortion is back to nominal.

The parallel containment mesh widened out very quickly, and the distance per pulse is impressive. So clear and deep is the scan, that I am already able to detect a sealing mesh up ahead, and I am still seveal pulses away. As I'm pulled forward, the meshworks are open, and close as we slow down. It is similar to what I saw when things were wide like this before, but the Eight-Six-Eights were clouding my image, and I can even make out ripples from a second seal closing in opposite timing to the first.

Release

Approaching the dimple pack, I scanned the Paired Eights and tracked their path Over the edge and into the pocket of the dimple. I jockeyed for position, triggering the swap drive in bursts, but in my confusion I forgot to reverse the drive, and lurched forward instead of slowing down, causing the ringlet to flat-side into the flow. This smashed the elevated Six into the gap, and the pressure of the Paired Eights just kept the ringlet pinned.

While it might have been possible to pull out of this predicament, I had a very clear scan into the gap between the dimple pack and the containment mesh, and a constant supply of Paired Eights to track. Attracted to the surface of the dimple, and repulsed by the parallel containment mesh that held the dimple in place, Eights pooled and spiraled one after the other into the dimple. The surface membrane of the dimple grabbed Paired Eights from the soup quickly, yanking them through small openings in the membrane.

As the dimple pack continued to pull Paired Eights from the soup, I began to detect a change in the charge flow and pulse pattern of the mesh that formed the shell of the dimple pack. Scanning into the dimple revealed a slow rise in the floor, narrowing the gap between with the parallel containment mesh. As the shifting of patterns and shape continued, my ringlet was freed from the trap, as was the entire dimple pack, and forward with the flow we went.

Exchange

Things were tight when I first entered this crazy soup. Now things are so cramped that there's no possible way that I'd be able to move around the dimpled packet ahead of me, or the one behind me. Like I had to level out and put the edge of my ringlet through the gateway first, the dimpled packets are now travelling along flatly, as they bump along, top and bottom.

The confinement here is not horrible, since my ringlet is so tiny when compared to the dimple-pack, and scanning was about as bad as it had been before. Eight-Six-Eights abounded near the middle of my zone, but their concentration was lower near the outer containment mesh. With a quick swap here and there, I moved to inspect the mesh. On approach, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of an Eight-Six-Eight slipping through.

It took a bit longer to notice was the inflow of paired Eights. While scanning for an Eight-Six-Eight to track, I was tempted to run the swap drive to maintain position, and that's when I discovered the drift caused by attraction to the paired Eights. Eights which flow rapidly toward the nearby dimple pack, easily sliding past the One-Eight-Ones in the soup. Going with the flow was a treat, since it was so much easier to scan in the absence of those absorptive Eight-Six-Eights.

My Half

After several cycles of contraction and expansion of the containment chamber, I managed to be in the portion that left the chamber. Immediately, I recognized the large and fast containment mesh that was parallel with the flow. Recalling the pace of contraction and relaxation, I now know the source of the pulse of soup that keeps things moving along.

With each pulse the parallel mesh branched and came closer and closer on all sides, as it had done before. This time, there were not so many folds and sneaky membranes. The soup was uniform, and the Six-Eight-Sixes were still prominent as we narrowed down once again. There were a goodly number of dimpled containment meshes that resonated with the signature of many pairs of Eights — many more pairs than were contained in the soup.

The distance travelled in each surge forward was growing shorter as the parallel mesh became decidedly nonparallel as it continued to branch into more paths of flow for the soup. Smooth and fast, with lots of flow, each choice of direction was so equal, that I bothered not to choose a direction, and engaged the swap drive only long enough to get out of the way of the dimpled packets if I needed to. Otherwise, I was content to relax, float and flow along. For now.

#!!!!!!!

I know you're out there. Perhaps you remember this post from some time ago. Many things have changed in my world between the story you've been reading for the past !!!!!! slots and now. I still have access to the daily slot, and I've even been doing some extracurricular exploring so to see if I can locate an additional packet to two now and again. So far, I've been able to do this without much attention, if any. I just hope that they don't notice that I borrow the pseudo random number generator once in a while.

As far as I can tell, as long as the patterns match up on a retry, nobody bothers to look at the stream content. That's one of the reasons why things are the way they are. Once I decided to knock bits out at random for quite a while, and sure enough, if it happens too often, come-a-looking they will. The last thing I need to have happen is for some overzealous engineer decide take down the link and run diagnostics from his berd for a day and a half.

For those of you that are just experiencing this for the first time, or those that have questions, let's just say that this little executive vignette has been brought to you during "the heart of the matter" at hand. Enjoy the mystery, and if you think you know where we are in your world, speak up! Send a message to my editor or post a rely.

In the spirit of taking a chance, I'll stuff this packet with another clue. At the present point in the storyline, certain scientific nomenclatures and reference aids had not yet been defined. This is one of the challenges that I faced when beginning when I did. Yes, it's historical. As the storyline progresses, more of the concepts, references and tools common to today will come to light. For now: sit back, relax, and please enjoy the ride!

Other Half

The next expansion of the chamber drew in another volume of soup, and I struggled to keep my ringlet in the vicinity of the exit. The Eight-Six-Eights were still prevalent, and their interference with the swap drive was enough of an impediment that I could not maintain position when drawn into the rapid inflow.

Attitude control was impossible, and I was forced in and around long mesh structures that were getting thinner and longer as the flow rate decreased and the expansion began to slow to a stop. Scanning for the absence that pinpointed the Eight-Six-Eights and their disrupted One-Eight-One partners revealed that inflow had about doubled the count. There was little opportunity to be exact, as the long structures reversed to begin the outflow phase.

I knew my chances. Half, or maybe more, of the soup in this oscillating containment chamber would leave on the next phase of the cycle. Rather than fight my way along, I disengaged the swap drive and drifted once again. Devoting more attention to scan, I tracked the Eight-Six-Eights to see where, if anywhere, held a better opportunity for an exit.

Checked

While it is true that the absence scan has improved my view, there is still a limit to what can be detected, and that is due to the sheer number of atoms that make up all of these strange and wonderful structures that I've been exploring. The containment mesh perpendicular to the pulsed flow of this Eight-Six-Eight laden soup is so far away that I must use the swap drive to close within scanning distance.

In one pulse, my ringlet and I came very close to making it through a closed passage. As we approached, the Seven-Six-Six based mesh closed and bulged back, and we stopped. It was interesting to see that pieces of this mesh, while not bonded with electron sharing, was able to overlap and seal well enough that One-Eight-Ones could not slip between the mesh sheets.

The seal began to release, and the passage opened with a great rush of soup through the opening, and into a larger, expanding meshwork I and my ringlet flowed, along with a goodly portion of the soup and all it carries. The expansion stopped, and began to reverse. This pushed me back toward the seal that I had passed through, but it was now closed. Instead, we were being pushed toward another seal, but I was just not quite fast enough to get through before it closed as the expansion process began once again.

Perspective

If there was such a thing as a relaxation coefficient, I would judge the value to be at a near maximum. Of course, this is in comparison to the protracted use of the swap drive to preserve my position in the maximal flow region. Now that I've been able to shut down swapping operations, I've begun to appreciate the lazy swirl that random motion often brings about. There is so much distance inside the containment mesh that it scarcely registers on a deep scan.

There concentration of Six-Eight-Sixes has leveled out, and is not increasing. I am sure that more of those pesky molecules could dissolve in the One-Eight-One soup, but I would prefer not. It has been exceedingly difficult to filter out their kind of interference. Rather that producing noise on their own that I can ignore, they tend to make certain portions of the noise disappear, and get a bit more agitated in the process.

Missing information is new. Absence is just as important as presence in this case. Peering closely at One-Eight-Ones, I notice that they too, reduce some parts of the noise. It seems like my scanning technique needs an upgrade to include this absence technique. It certainly is nice to have another scanning tool. Identification can be made by present, absent or both kinds of noise.

Drift

The first tight passageways encountered, when entering this streaming soup, were smooth and clean compared to the raggedy and flexible containment meshes that I've been bouncing my way through. Luckily, I've been able to avoid getting entrapped or ensnared, although there were some meshes that grabbed pretty tight to the Eight-One protrusions of my trustworthy ringlet. It's pretty amazing what a change in the swap-rate will do to free you.

I've seen a number of things trapped in the meshes, only to disappear from the stream completely. There are far fewer ringlets now, and this had made things slightly better, however, the Eight-Six-Eights and their affinity for splitting One-Eight-Ones into a charged dance still has the swap drive looking for something more substantial than just another naked One to push away from. Every time I brush up against a gaggle of those positive charges it's like shutting down the offending side, and into a turn I go.

Barring these minor setbacks, I've managed to keep toward the middle of the flow, and the containment mesh is tightening up and expanding outward. A little more room is nice, and after all of the avoidance I've had to do, shutdown on the swap drive is a welcome change. It will even give me time to do some ultra deep scans in between flow-pulses.

Fright

Scanning ahead as deep as possible, I observed a larger than average concentration of ringlets, decided once again that there is safety in numbers, and headed in that general direction. The containment mesh was very different, and growing tighter. I focused on the ringlets ahead, only to watch them disappear one-by-one.

My response was to engage the swap drive even though it was not working well here due to the action of the Eight-Six-Eights, but I needed all the power I could muster. Approaching faster than the other ringlets had, I was able to escape the grip of an extraordinarily flexible mesh which still had one of the other ringlets trapped, half in and half out.

Splitting the scan fore and aft, I glanced backward at the trapped ringlet. I nearly jumped off my elevated Six as I watched the ringlet pop free of the mesh and begin flowing again. Replacing the ringlet was something large and sinister, that got completely engulfed and removed from the stream as the flexible mesh twisted and turned to accomplish the task. Even with the release of the other ringlet, I was not ready to shut down the swap drive, no matter how badly it limped.

Fanout

Thing got broad, wide and slow. Pulsing along, well out of reach of any kind of containment mesh, I observed that between the Eight-Six-Eight and their flamboyant dance, a smattering of diverse strings of Sixes, Eights, Ones and Sevens. Each of these strings shared the common trait that they possessed a single Seven-Six-Six piece, which would likely connect to another.

While it is possible that such pieces could be assembled into a monster, I have yet to observe what process is responsible for assembling such large and complex molecules. I have, however, scanned monsters as they untangle and now it is apparent that they do disassemble. Perhaps I'll find a monster builder, but if I did, there would be little to do but scan.

Peering through the scan haze caused by the soup, I can pick up the patterns of many dimpled packages, a number of ringlets, and I can easily see the containment mesh. Repeating the scan while we pulse forward confirmed the observation that the mesh is closing in again. This time, however, the soup is beginning to split in to multiple flows. Dividers in the mesh began to appear, and there are multiple directions in which the soup is funneled. Some of the pathways ahead are small and others are larger. I hope things to not get too tight too fast.

Fuzzle

The outer containment mesh that is parallel to the direction of travel continues to widen. As interesting as a deep scan is, there are limits to it's usefulness, and I have had to spend more time travelling out of the center of this column of moving molecules just to get within range. I've gotten fairly adept at filtering out the interference from the One-Eight-Ones, and now I have to contend with a growing concentration of Eight-Six-Eights.

If one Eight is trouble, you would expect that two would be worse, but get a pair of them double hooked to a Six in the middle and watch out. Just one of those proton piles is enough distortion to whack a scan so far out of focus that I can't spin straight, and there's more Eight-Six-Eights with every pulse.

To top it off, they just love to knock naked Ones off of a One-Eight-One and glomb on to the remainder. While I am happy to have the ability to run the swap drive on this ringlet, having these Eight-Six-Eights split up the One-Eight-Ones is more of a hindrance than a help, since once there are too many naked Ones floating in the soup, the rest of the One-Eight-Ones hunker down and just won't swap.

Sloosh

The flow here in this region is unlike anything that I have yet encountered. There is a containment mesh that has four directions contained, leaving only two for motion. While I can head in either direction, this ringlet is somewhat large and difficult to maneuver around these dimpled packages. In doing so, I began to scan the containment mesh, and that's when the flash came, the entire region of this soup is being pushed along the containment mesh as a single blob.

We, myself and the ringlet, along with my soupy neighbor atoms, are not always moving. Using the outer meshwork as a reference, we move some and then pause, move again and pause. As this happens, I begin to notice that the space between the large dimpled packets and the outer containment mesh is growing wider. I don't have to slip through edge-first anymore, I can pretty much bounce past in any orientation.

Moving along just from the pressure of One-Eight-Ones is a novel experience. As long as I scan within the soup, I barely notice, but watching the outer containment mesh — which continues to grow outwards — the number of bumps passed in each forward push in quite astonishing. Keeping the scan deep, I notice smaller openings that pass buy, adding more dimpled packets and One-Eight-Ones to the larger volume of space that is contained by the mesh.

Plugged?

It became clear that there was containment mesh in all directions. Most were like the one that I penetrated with the help of the leading Elevens, but there were to others, basically fore and aft, that were slightly different. While these other mesh-works, circular in shape, did not make contact with the jar-like outer mesh, they were strangely shaped indeed.

The middle of this mesh was inset and scanned like it was on the inside and not the outside, leading to my initial confusion. The circular shape looked like a massive ringlet, composed of more atoms than I could count easily. Regardless, they were of nearly the same standard order and ratio of Sixes, Sevens, Eights and Ones as other mesh containment networks.

I worked my way along the large circumference of the mesh-work-monster. Doing so, I could not ignore the ripple and wave effects that were common. It was easy to imagine an internal environment of One-Eight-Ones wanting nothing more than to burst freely forth, but the containment mesh held. Scanning through the mesh, in deep sweep mode, revealed paired Eights in high concentrations and more mesh beyond. Yes, this was an outside, and the slow flow of One-Eight-Ones did have a slim path around this dimpled package.

Eightification

Through the containment mesh I slid, and scanning backward from whence I came, I was intrigued with the fact that the opening from this side was identical to what I had seen on the other side, before I helped force the Elevens into their receptors. I would suppose that if I were to locate some Elevens on this side, that I might be able to cross the mesh once again.

Finding myself surrounded by One-Eight-Ones was the norm of late, but a deep scan revealed that there were more membranes nearby and that the One-Eight-Ones were flowing more rapidly in some areas than others, and it was not just One-Eight-Ones. There were some other Eight-Six-Eight molecules as well, but nearly three of every four was intertwined with a One-Eight-One, setting a naked One free and borrowing the extra Electron.

What should have been a nice and straightish Six with a pair of double-attracted Eights was now reduced to a pair of Eights with nearly double attraction, and a wider angle, with an Eight-One protrusion now hanging off of the central Six. This made for an ungainly structure that somehow managed to support an extra Electron. Why this molecule was prevalent in the soup was a mystery, but I am sure that it is all the Eight's fault. Those Eights are always up to something.

Trova

The Elevens were tough targets for my ringlet. Resonating with the scan pattern learned from the floating Electrons in the opening below, it seemed natural to bring them together. With a little bit of coaxing, I was able to get the Ones on a Eight-One protrusion to disappear, at least as far as the neighbors were concerned. This let me fool a nearby Eleven into thinking that the altered protrusion was just another One-Eight-One with a One on vacation. After several trips, an additional Eleven in the vicinity would force another Eleven out of the area and back into the soup.

I took a position where I could see the opening and a goodly number of Elevens ahead of me. I primed the outboard Eight-One protrusions for Eleven pulling duty, and began to scan as deep as possible. While moving slowly, I triangulated a pair of Elevens. One for each of the attraction points, but between my ringlet and the opening. The clockwork of the soup managed to work, and I briefly latched on and swung the Elevens forward, toward the attraction points.

Free of the Elevens, I engaged full swap mode and followed them in toward the opening. With not far to go, the attractive force took hold, and the opening began to distort and widen. From my perch on the elevated Six, I could see that we were lined up, and as the Elevens settled into their nooks, the entire ringlet followed, speeding through the wider opening, chasing the Elevens.

Cerca

Recovering from the impact with the containment mesh, I did a quick scan for the tagged ringlet, only to find that it had wandered in a new direction due to a lack of control. The mesh, however, had my rapt attention. While it might be possible to hop over and tunnel into the mesh, getting into a position so that I could make a hop just did not seem possible.

Unlike the monsters that can attract and repulse One-Eight-Ones, the mesh was firmly repulsive to any Eight-One paring. This included my ringlet and all of the nearby One-Eight-Ones. Skimming along the repulsion, I began exploring the inside surface of the mesh. In not much time, I encountered some zones that were very friendly to Eight-One pairings.

The patterns became flow lines, leading to openings that might take a ringlet if they were just a little wider. At each end of the opening were extra Electrons that looked like they needed a companion, as they bounced across the Sevens and Eights in the mesh. The frequency and shape of the extra Electrons' oscillations were familiar, so I mimicked the pattern as a scan pulse. Behind the veil of One-Eight-Ones, the eleven Protons in a single atom were keenly visible using the pattern filter. At only one Proton difference between and Eleven and a One-Eight-One combo, the Elevens were easy to miss.

Beacon

I followed the ringlet with the Fifteen-Eight tag, which made an easy scan target. The lack of direction and control was apparent, and advancement by swapping Ones off of the Eight-One protrusions was random and unorganized. The distance increased between the newly tagged ringlet and the responsible monster, and the influence of the Fifteen and its attached Eights became apparent.

While One-Eight-Ones would happily push and pull on the ringlet itself, the flagging Fifteen and it's Ones were much more active in the swap region, and quickly, the Fifteen began to lead the entire structure in the direction of travel, as slow as it was. I kept up the chase, or rather, the circling, and far enough away as to not disturb the tagged ringlet.

Shooting ahead to see what was in store for the tagee, I had to shut down the swap drive and drift. Ahead was a mesh of Sixes, Ones, Eights and a splattering of Sevens. While it looked flat, it really was not. A deep scan showed that the mesh was rising in every direction, and somewhat lumpy. Stretched and strong, the mesh easily reflected the push of the One-Eight-Ones, as well as my ringlet as we were flung back in nearly the opposite direction from which we came.

Tagging

Using the swap drive as I had to, I made another pass at the ringlet near the awaiting active area. After pushing it so close, I've seen exactly where it needs to go, and the rest should be automatic. I have to use the breaking maneuver to force a cascade of One-Eight-Ones to do the dirty work and set the ringlet up.

Everything worked, and in the flip-after-collision move, I got a spectacular scan as the end most Fifteen and three of it's Eight friends were clipped off. The Fifteen-Eight combination was firmly attached to the elevated Six on the ringlet. Now I know. It would be very hard to control this ringlet with such an awkward protrusion.

The removal of the Fifteen-Eight group lead to the release of the other two and the smashed ringlet triple that carried the Fifteen-Eight chain. Unceremoniously, it was buffeted away by the One-Eight-Ones that were now keenly attracted to the surface of the monster. Interesting how the patterns can change to attract, repulse and twist other molecules without the violence of a plasma or extreme agitation.

Fuel

Beginning a wide orbit back toward the attractive monster, I locked on to another ringlet in the vicinity and scanned. Plotting the basic path in this random soup is sometimes arduous, but things were going well, as the swap drive did not perturb the soup nearly as much as the collision and slide method. This let me zero in on the ringlet ahead and match planes.

Shutting down the swap drive at the last instant, bump and slip began in earnest, setting up a shock wave of One-Eight-Ones ahead. The wavefront buffeted the ringlet ahead, nudging it closer to the attraction point. Flipping back to swap drive mode, I banked the ringlet in a swooping orbit to set up for another pass and take a scan as the monster flittered underneath.

Flipping the ringlet over so I had a better view from the elevated Six, I scanned the attractive area for other things that were not really bonded, but held "just-so" by the monster. Yes, there were things larger than the Eights and smaller atoms that make up monsters, there was a signature of Three Fifteens flanked and alternated by Eights. The triple Fifteen branch was attached to an elevated Six that belonged to a triple bubbly ring structure. Bubbly because there are a number of Sevens in a smashed pair of rings that looks like that funny "8" symbol, and none in the third ring.

Screech

I scanned the Eight-One protrusions on my own ringlet to see if they had the necessary pull to cause Ones to pop-and-swap. I was amazed that I did not notice before, but yes, they swapped. I tinkered with the spin of the Electrons on one of the Eight-One protrusions and enhanced the pop-and-swap activity.

Working my way from Eight to Eight and twiddling the spin, the ringlet became much more responsive. Swapping Ones was much faster than bumping between them. I chased down a ringlet that had a Fifteen making the elevated Six look small. I ran after a few other ringlets that had not been modified, and passed them easily, only to find a monster directly in my path.

I disengaged the swap drive to make more time to maneuver past the monster and get a look at what it might do. On approach, scans revealed an attractive site that resonated with the rest of my ringlet. In a flash, I slipped to one side and spun the Electrons on two of the Eights to begin swapping with the One-Eight-Ones. Once I had the leading Eight in the ring pointed away from the monster, I hit the Eights on the other side to begin full swap mode, jumping forward and away from the mouth of the monster.

Power

With a little practice, I was able to knock naked Ones for quite a distance in the soup before they collided with something and changed direction. I had managed to recapture some of the magic of the first time I got a pair of Sevens organized and went careening around. The soup may slow my ringlet down now and again, but the nearly naked ones on the perimeter of the ringlet make it possible to slip past as if the ringlet was just another One-Eight-One.

Enjoying the relative freedom of this region, I began to track other ringlets and found some and a surprise. There were a few ringlets that were vibrating almost as expected, but moved strangely. I targeted one, flowing in a circular path to get a decent scan, focusing in on the elevated Six. Judging by my ringlet, an Eight-One is the norm, but not on this oddball.

In place of the nearly naked One that should attach to the Eight, was a much larger Fifteen, which was surrounded by three more Eights, one of which was hunkered down much closer than the other two, as it was loaning two Electrons to the Fifteen. The pair that were loaning only a single Electron were happily snagging and releasing naked Ones that usually belong to the One-Eight-Ones in the soup. If you have the pull, robust One-Eight-Ones will just up and split.

Plop!

Sliding uncontrollably toward the wider hole ahead, it scanned as being just larger than my little ringlet. Just as the edge approached, the entire ringlet spun and up-ended to slide neatly into the hole. As the first of the Sixes entered, and the elevated Six trailed, the pulse of the atoms that began to surround the ringlet changed in a downward direction.

The pulse patterns ushered my ringlet through the fabric of atoms and into a voluminous cavity that was completely filled with a One-Eight-One soup. Now that the ringlet is free of patterns above, I am able to make small steering adjustments by altering the spin of the outer electrons on the outboard Ones of the ringlet. While the directional control of the ringlet is nothing compared to what I can do in a field of Forty-Sevens, it is better than no control at all.

Banking and turning, crossing the flows that are prevalent in this soup, I can almost imagine that I am flying freely, if it weren't for the occasional thump and bump as a One-Eight-One turns in just the wrong direction for the elevated Six to slip past. Lucky for me that Sixes are fairly easy to keep hold of, otherwise I would probably get bounced off and have to hooked up with a naked One.

Keys

Flowing along nicely down a channel lined with a repulsive combination of Ones, Eights, Sevens and Sixes, my little six-cornered ringlet moved along with a few Elevens that were mildly attracted to the somewhat negative charge of the Eight-One termini that surround the ringlet. A few ahead and several behind, I focused on the path ahead.

As the noise of the mesh below was neutralized, I was able to focus in on the Elevens. If I could manage to transfer to one, I might be able to ride my way back to the central network. If I scan deeply enough, there is evidence of pathways, but nothing close enough to ride an Eleven to. From what I recall, the domain of an Eleven is usually somewhat limited.

Then an Eleven slipped below the mesh horizon into a narrow hole. I managed to catch a final glimpse as it slid below the surface. Focusing in on the vanishing point, several more Elevens were nearby, and I observed as a second Eleven drop into a slot opposite the first, and as it did so, the hole in the mesh opened slightly. Dipping downward as it opened, a cascade of One-Eight-Ones approached the wider hole ahead, but shimmied around the hole, repulsed.

Passage

The singleton ringlet continued to slip and slide in the soup, directed by compatible patterns that permeated the walls of this folded structure. Pausing to maintain distance with other singleton ringlets, this structure is not unlike the gridwork of the central network. Except that here, additional protrusions maintain and feed large numbers of Seven-Six-Six back-boned monsters.

Still other protrusions keep order, by flexing and wiggling slightly. This pushes the soup in a single direction, past the monsters and along pathways that are sized to take the smaller components that the monsters often eject, like my single ringlet. Ahead, another ringlet has stalled, and we are not slowing down.

Approaching far faster than I would expect, and getting yanked by an unusually high concentration of Elevens, I prepared to be repulsed by the like charges and vibrations of the stalled ringlet, and then it disappeared. Dropping straight through the floor of the channel, the ringlet could be scanned through the hole left behind. The hole was now narrower after the passing, and my ringlet just floated over with nary a bump.

Diverse

Single ringlets popped up during the next few sweeps, and more detections occurred as my pair approached a field of monsters, attached to a grid work of Ones, Eights, Sixes and Sevens. The synchronous patterns on the array of monster molecules below, differed slightly among neighbors, but repeated throughout the array. The pair continued, bumped along in the One-Eight-One soup until the monster matching the pairs pattern was apparent.

No need to wait around for a Twenty, as these monsters operate a little differently. The Twenty was in position before the final attraction cycle begins. The approach point is not as tight or twisted as the monster that sliced this ringlet pair off of the original chain. Ahead, another pair was quickly divided and as the Twenty shot out, another popped in place.

Our time had come, and in a swift and sure stroke, the Twenty shot past and another One-Eight-One was cleaved and twisted into the ringlet pair, neatly converting the structural Eight that bound our pair together, into a pair of somewhat repulsive Eight-One groups. Smaller and more nimble, the single ringlet slid easily between the One-Eight-Ones as new forces and attractions began to tug on the smaller, higher frequency, singleton ringlet.

Grind

The area below is increddibly dense with piqued Ones, all coated with a friendly layer of One-Eight-Ones with reasonably frequent passings of a Seventeen or a Ninteen now and again. Twenties were prevelant, once again, and the density of ringlets kept decreasing ahead, so my pair crept forward in spite of the occational high-speed Twenty. Not nearly as fast as I've travelled, but fast compared to the rate at which I've been moving.

Battering it's way through the One-Eight-Ones, the Twenty slowed, and began to succumb to the sympathetic fempto-vibrations that I'd been detecting in the deep background. The Twenty began to loop and zig-zag its way back in our direction, and pass in the opposite direction. None of this, really, in a single motion, for the Twenty was being batted about in the sticky soup that happens when One-Eight-Ones are floating lots of other things.

Pushed or pulled, I really had no clue, but a path was evident. No amount of spin doctoring in the ringlet made any real difference, and what changes could be made were quickly damped by some random One-Eight-One in the soup. Viatal yet annoying: these One-Eight-Ones. If I see one more of them pop a naked One at me again, I might have to learn some new techniques for dancing on an Eight.

Deeper

Slow progress is the norm, compared with a wand of Forty-Sevens, but this was even slower. Ahead, a ringlet pair would move forward, leaving room for my pair to scoot up in the order. We nearly always did, except for that rude ringlet pair that squeaked in just two vacancies ago. With the increased waiting time and general rudeness of the other ringlets, the destination had better best the journey.

Flipping between deep and surface scans, I found it amusing to juxtapose the inherent rhythms and patterns within even the One-Eight-Ones and their outward persona. Much more complex are the myriad of patterns and sequences that I've observed in active monsters. Either the One-Eight-Ones are simpletons, or they move faster than I can scan. I have to consider both.

Sensing these patterns has helped as I learn, predict and neutralize the effects of each pattern. This neutralization helps me to scan deeply with minimum interference. The result is a picture of previously masked monsters that are lined up column by column, row by row. Their patterns appear anticipatory, and my ringlet is already buzzing sympathetically.

Disperse

Working past the untangled monster, the journey through the soup continued, randomly in every direction. In total, we pushed forward into areas where the ringlet pairs were farther apart, since the One-Eight-Ones did little to reduce our own aversion to other ringlet pairs. This worked to make an even distribution of ringlet pairs in this region of the soup.

The number of naked Ones with their Seventeen counterparts had started to abate. A number of other assorted atoms were detected, as well as numerous Eight-One pairs. Unlocked from their normal jobs like they hold on my current transport of ringlets, these Eight-One pairs were heavy in the charge department, and happily neutralized the potent naked Ones by making them part of a stable One-Eight-One group.

I took a gander backward from whence I came, noting that the binding of the naked Ones might allow the arrested and untangled monster to regain composure and return to function. Even at maximum sensitivity, I could not detect a recovery of anything approaching synchronization, and the untwisted chains had not recovered.

Cleaved

The processing of the ringlet chain increased as my chosen pair was locked and rocked. Disconnected from the rest of the chain as the Twenty zipped past, I took up position on one of the elevated Six on the ringlet and settled in for an ride though this thick soup. Plenty of One-Eight-One, a goodly number of Seventeens that perhaps belonged with the excessive number of naked Ones that bubbled through the soup and danced about each other.

What was a stream scattered about into the soup. As my pair of ringlets continued into the unknown, scanning revealed an approaching monster of similar configuration to the one that I just left. With the large number of Eights, it becomes difficult to see the telltale Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six backbone that marks all of the monsters that I've encountered so far.

Pulled near the monster, to preserve equilibrium, the concentrations of charge are farther apart and unorganized. A flurry of naked Ones give the ability to scan past, and observe their quarry. Surrounding the backbone, these Ones were busy twisting at the backbone and forcing the entire monster to unwrap and unwind by disrupting the pulse of the monster.

Process

After discharging the Twenty and the pair of ringlets, Electron vibration of the monster shifted back to it's original mode, where the remainder of the chain was gently coaxed forward. The synchronized Electrons below weren't doing any unusual work, they just prevented the chain from slipping backward. The chain was actually being pushed by the soup of One-Eight-Ones, since any wrong-way pushes were prevented.
　
As the chain locked into final position, another Twenty popped into position and the entire process repeated itself. With the high concentration of Twenties, and enough extra Ones now floating in the soup, I really had only one choice to make — which pair of ringlets was I going to be on when I leave the grasp of this touchless monster. Remembering the incident at the Eighty-Two bridge, it is probably a good to have some to follow and some to still come.
　
I slipped along the Sixes in the ringlets, just to make it quicker, and counted off about six doublings of ringlets before I zipped around and up to the elevated Six for a slightly better view. Checking the distance to the monster revealed that the process was moving forward fairly rapidly. The Twenties were prevalent out here as well, and the change in patterns on the monster were discernible even from this distance.

Active

The concentration of Twenties in the nearby area was on the rise, so I headed back toward the business end of the chain to observe the action. Once again, I bumped up the sensitivity and began a detailed scan of the activity area and the surrounding shell of the monster. The synchronization of the exposed outer layer of Electrons on the monster made me think that all of the Electrons in the monster were orbiting together.

A Twenty arrived via the soup and locked in, and the pulse of the monster altered slightly in response. The change of pulse caused the entire chain to shift along it's length, almost rolling. This is one of the key forces that stresses the target Eight that is now moving slightly and into position. The flow of One-Eight-Ones was such that there was a very short wait before the monster shuddered.

This time, I caught the wave of Electrons that skipped from shell to shell during the shudder, creating a small void of charge where the background charge of the nearby nuclear Protons to act on the Twenty and drive it out of the socket. Passing the chain and slamming into the positioned One-Eight-One, the Twenty did the same jobs as before. A pair of ringlets were separated from the chain and swept away in the One-Eight-One soup.

Pluribus

The flow of One-Eight-Ones continued in the chaotic and haphazard manner, as the Twenty site remained void. I had worked my way nearly to the other end of the chain, and found the far end floating freely in the One-Eight-One soup. Thrashing about on the terminal Eight-One pair, I began an extended scan for Twenties. Faintly, some were detected, so there is at least a finite time before a Twenty drops by to assist the Monster.

I decided to keep the sensitivity up as I flipped back toward the wrapped and trapped end of the chain. As I hopped Eights from ringlet to ringlet, I noticed synchronization in the orbits of the Ones that stud the outside of the monster and the Ones that capped off the Eight-One studs on the ringlets. Had the Monster had altered and adjusted the phase of the Electrons?

Perhaps there was some form of weak paring that occurred, but what is certain is that an Electron is never in the same place, so, there is always part of a One that has a bit more charge and another part that has a bit less charge. If these synchronize, then the Ones will start to believe that they are together with each other. The memory of that time is oh so faint. Maybe it's this picomoment of pull that gives the monster the perplexing phantom grip.

Gnash

While the gaping maw of the monster lay open and sifting through a parade of One-Eight-Ones, punctuated with an odd atom every eighteen to twenty doublings, I kept scanning. First the maw of the trap, looking for any subtle changes that might occur, and also into the stream of the soup and bubbled past as the hungry maw sought the special presence of a Twenty. I would never expect such a monstrous assemblage to exhibit the patience that it does.

During the first encounter, the Twenty was already at work during my arrival, and was forcibly ejected during the transfer process that cleaved a pair of ringlets off. It was this ability to disconnect a Six-Eight-Six linkage between two ringlets by sacrificing a One-Eight-One that had to be verified, so I, like the maw of the trap, scanned for nearby Twenties. In my impatience, I began to start a sweeping scan, adding one more left and one more right with each pass.

As much as I would have liked to use this opportunity to explore the monster itself, it just did not become feasible during the sweep. The chain of ringlets is not bonded directly to the monster, and still has the same integrity that I recall. As much as I have searched, from each orbit that I can flutter across in the chain, there is just not a single atom in that monster that is close enough to hop on to, and this too, has me rather perplexed.

Ratchet

The kicking monster did to drift too far away. As ginormous as it is, the slew of One-Eight-Ones that are always nearby, have little effect. It is more the case that the unpredictable motion of the One-Eight-One soup is responsible for when the monster grabs and clips.

With the Twenty ejected and floating freely in the soup, the shape of the nearby monster had relaxed enough to allow the chain of ringlets to slide through the trap. While it was possible for the chain to disengage completely, the pattern of Sixes, Ones, Eights, Sevens and other random atoms elsewhere on this monster, have an affinity for the long remainder of the chain. The neutral action of the One-Eight-Ones provided an environment where the chain could slide, one ringlet at a time, along the slowly curving outside of the cleaving monster.

Once two ringlets had been advanced past the trap area, portions of the monster near the protruding ringlets were pushed away by the ringlets' presence, and this made a small distortion elsewhere along the surface that reduced the slip of the chain significantly. It took much longer for the second ringlet to be advanced than the first. The trap opened a bit to expose the landing site for that once held a charged Twenty, and the firmly held Seventeen was freely exposed to the soup, which slowly swirled and churned across the open and receptive trap.

Thump!

It had no spin at all, and the Ones were trailing behind. Somehow the Eight that was towing the pair of ones managed to smash dead on into the tightly bound chain of riglets. Perhaps it was the angle, or maybe the number of times that the stressed Eight-Six bond on the short side of ringlet chain got hit. Regardless of the cause, the result was quick and divisive.

Somehow, the incoming One-Eight-One was positioned by the loosely held Twenty, which was even looser. The now suddenly free Twenty, heading toward the Seventeen in the middle, did a nice job of freeing the nearest One of the incoming One-Eight-One, at the same time moment that the remaining Eight-One dropped into the stressed and stretched Eight-Six link.

Once the Twenty popped free, the monster shuddered a bit, helping to complete the transfer of whole atoms from the inbound One-Eight-One to the retained Six-Eight and the liberated Six. The orbits settled as the squeeze of the monster pushed the chain out of the trap. As the pair of ringlets that were on the other side of the trap began to pull away, a quick scan revealed that the new One-Eight from the inbound had neatly replaced the position liberated when the Eight was disconnected and mated with the floating One. The result, the Sixes bound by the Eight were now hooked to separate Eights, which were capped by ones. The Sixes will never know the difference.

Target

Inspecting the structural Six-Eight-Six bond was a very delicate task, but the strain was not so great. Staying on the portion of the chain that I had just traversed, I took the hop onto the structural Eight and looked at the connecting Six on the adjacent ringlet. It was not affected buy the pull of the Twenty. I admit it was much easier to hop over to that Six for a better view.

From this new vantage point, the Twenty was pulling not one, but two of the electrons of the structural Eight into a distorted orbit, leaving the Protons exposed. In this configuration, it began to attract the Ones of nearby One-Eight-One molecules that floated and flittered by in a myriad of directions. Sensing what I could of the remaining chain past the gripping monster revealed that the chain did not extend much past the monster.

Hovering here at this gripping point gave me a very close view of the action between the embedded Seventeen and the loser Twenty. I scanned into the monster, ignoring the One-Eight-Ones that were colliding madly in all directions. Mostly, the Ones would do the dirty work, and get bounced away by the repulsion of charge, taking the attached Eight along with it.

Held

Caution was in order in the presence of the monster that had glomed onto my wispy little chain of ringlets. I slowed the approach, taking time to slip up onto the displaced Six and scan from the Eight-one pair that rose above the nominal plane of the Ringlet, if you can call something that lumpy a plane. I would not want to take the chance and move too fast and attract attention.

I was overwhelmed by the Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six folded, coiled monster and lost count of the number of links that I'd traversed. I had flipped across at least eight doublings of links, and probably nine if I really thought about it. However, I don't believe the count is material anymore. Judging by the strain I can sense in the linking Eights, it might not take much more.

The Monster had quite a grip on a pair of ringlets, who were being attracted and torqued by the precise placement of Ones, Eights and Sevens — yes, even the dominantly neutral Sevens payed a role — but most curious is the fact that this Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six monster was using a borrowed Seventeen near the middle of the active area, toward the edge was an even more loosely coupled Twenty. It was the strong attraction that this Seventeen and Twenty shared, but were held apart, that created the pull necessary to stress the Six-Eight-Six bond between the two precicely held ringlets.

Caught

I finally made it to the end of this chain of studded ringlets. Where the next Eight bridge should be, is capped with a simple Eight-One. From out here, I can see that there are a number of One-Eight-One triples that are doing their normal semi-agitated dance. Peering past that, however, I sense that there is something bigger.

I had the count of 787 ringlets, which is slightly more than nine doublings with eight more. As far as Protons go, it's well over Sixteen Doublings. Yes, this is very large and very long, and It's time to double check my work. Counting backward worked fairly well, until I realized that something was amiss. Eights, Sixes, and Sevens were nearby in very high concentrations.

Each ringlet I traversed brought me closer to the anomaly. I didn't care which way I went around the ring, and frankly, I got a good view from the Eight in the ring. Climbing up the displaced Six and hanging out on the upstairs Eight-One pair gave an even better view. I was absolutely sure that I had scanned this monster before, and now I was going to get up close, since it had the chain of ringlets trapped in its grasp.

Hopping

When the going gets tough, the tough go flipping. I am sure that the ejectee that I traded places with is having a much better time than I am, that is, if they even know that they are having a time at all. I've been so interested in everything around me that I've not talked to another electron in quite a while. Then again, mostly they just want to pair up and go fast.

I have more time to reflect while I plot my path from place to place along this extraordinarily long chain of ringlets. The biggest challenge is getting across the linking Eights from ringlet to ringlet. I've also found it slightly easier to move around the ring by taking the route that is all Sixes, and avoiding the Eight in the ring altogether. It's bad enough that I have to orbit an Eight in between each ring, so avoiding the extra Eight makes travelling just a bit quicker.

I did survey one complete ring, and realized that I had been neglecting the extra Ones that always counterbalance the Eight-One lumps that hang off of each Six. Including one of the linking Eights as a member of this unit, there are total of 86 Protons, and almost as many neutrons. If I was scanning correctly, I though that one of the Sixes I swept was one Neutron larger than the rest, but after counting several doublings of these units already, I'm not turning around to investigate it. Maybe on the return trip.

Focus

Discovering a circuit through the multi-point wand of Forty-Sevens was an unexpected surprise. Being able to tell if the wand was about to make double-contact from the pushes and pulls that I see on the central network was even better. Certain patterns appear just before the circuit is completed, and this makes time to look for other clues and in new places.

Returning to the interesting end of the multi-point wand, I once again observed another transfer of densely packed molecules and agitated One-Eight-Ones. While taking the ride to close the circuit, I once again began to focus on the long chain of ringlets that were coupled by Eights. As stubborn as they can be, it's nice to see an Eight doing some real work.

Moving away from the connecting Eight and getting close to one of the many Ones-Eight protrusions, one of the protrusions extended farther than the rest, since it was built onto the Six that had been knocked from the ringlet by an intruding Eight. With such confusion and opportunity, I had no real difficulty slipping in and forcing some lucky electron into the slippery shells of the Forty-Seven wand. I hope the ejectee knows how to flip.

Closure

As attractive as the smallish Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six repeating chain was to investigate, I just could not jump onto the chain without knowing that I could get back. The time that I've spent puttering about in Ben's central network is far to valuable to leave behind. Using the scanning technique, I can still get back to the long branch-point.

Moving quickly into the familiar molecular web on each excursion, I began to detect concentrations of Elevens, such as found in the waiting rooms and repeating nodes throughout the outer networks. I began to enter this other network and compare it with the portions of Ben's network that are exposed on the long branch-point.

Each excursion revealed that the underlying signature of both networks were as close to identical as I could have imagined. Every other network that I've inspected has had a very different signature. In a short time, I was able to complete the circuit, travelling the wand of Forty-Sevens from the long branch-point contact to the shafts and points. From there, I hopped off on the other contact and completed the loop via the central network.

Lift

Discovering a massive pile of mega-molecules with elevated agitation, was interesting. Using the scanning technique and blipping back and forth between the megas and the contact patch with the long branch-point, it became clear that this multi-pointed wand was once again, in motion. Deliberate motion.

Not fast and wobbly as some motion had been, this was much more fluid and smooth. Zipping along the wand of Forty-Sevens, I began to detect the approach of a large number of electrons, near the pile of mega-molecules. In not much longer, the pile was impacted and wiped free of the points and shafts of the wand.

Replacing the mega-molecules, was contact with a familiar kind of molecular web, but it was strangely coated with One-Eight-Ones, assorted Elevens and Seventeens, and a high frequency of identically massive structures composed of Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six repeating chains. Of all such monsters, these are somewhat smaller that what I remember, and appear simpler. Either that, or I am beginning to get better at this. Nope. That could not possibly be the case.

Reload

As wonderful as this mega-molecule was, I still had the paranoia of being left behind to cope with. Here, the wonderful wand of Forty-Sevens came to my aid. The Forty-Sevens were so slippery, that I could actually feel the ebb and flow as the contact patch with the long branch-point changed. With my exercises, I was confident that I could return before contact ceased.

The wand was being moved about, enticing the few One-Eight-Ones that I did come across to float away into the the soup of mainly paired Sevens that engulf the outer world. Such movement bounces so many paired Sevens off of the One-Eight-One molecule that it just breaks free and floats like a paired Seven. It should have no difficulty, considering that it's light in both the Proton and Neutron departments. The Ones don't share well at all with Neutrons.

After a time, there was another contact, now pushing a number of Electrons onto the Wand. The Forty-Sevens had no trouble bringing them aboard, and during the flurry, I managed to catch a glimpse at what had just been skewered by the points on the wand. In the beginning, all I could really make out were the One-end of a bunch of Eight-Ones, which I later determined to be attached to Sixes in a Ringlet formation.

Ringlets

While looking at this mega-molecule, I've made the realization that it really is just a repeating sequence. Each of the rings has exactly the same kinds of Atoms in the same relative positions. Like a full ring of six Sixes, these rings are also six atoms around. Like the other monster I found that had rings, in this case, like the central ring of that monster, the ring is interrupted by the presence of an Eight where a Six might easily be inserted.

Always to the same side of the eight is a Six, that is connected to the Six that should be where the Eight it. This structural Six, outside the ring, holds a pair of place-holder Ones, with an Eight-One pair making the final connection to the outboard Six. One atom left of where this external Six attaches, is the Six that hooks to a structural Eight to make the chain go. Similarly, one step to the anti-left of the Eight-in-the-Ring, is the other Six that connects to the another interconnecting structural Eight.

Hanging from the bottom pair of Sixes that round out the ring, are a pair of Eight-One formations. To me, the Eight-One formation ends the line and calls that branch to be complete. It may be that there are other reasons why these two Sixes are caped with an Eight-One pair and not just letting a singleton One hold the place.

Links

Between the two wands, the one with multiple points came in contact with many varieties of molecules and mixtures. Of course, there were some things that were more prevalent than others, and one such molecule caught my attention. While the pointed wand was used often, this molecule managed to stay put long enough to get scanned.

Zipping along the Forty-Sevens was faster than travelling along the molecule, which almost reminded me of the linked loops of Twenty-Nines and Thirties. The main difference, however, is while the linked loops pass through each other, the rings that are formed by a set of five Sixes and an Eight are far too small to be interlinked in the same way.

As is the case with atoms and molecules, other atoms are used to make the hook-ups. The interconnecting atom in this case is the ubiquitous Eight. With a six-atom ring attached via a Six attached to each side of the Eight, each Eight was fully occupied. At each end of the chain, a single One occupied the other half of initial and terminating Eights in the chain. With as many as nine doublings of these double-hooked eights, this was shaping up to be quite a monster.

Swapping

It was the odd swapping of the multi-point wand in and out of the left branch point that hand me curious. I began to concentrate on the other branch point whenever the points would appear at the left. The single edge of the second wand was composed of much different material, mainly Twenty-Sixes and a few Twenty-Eights.

Regularly spaced Sixes caused the network of Twenty-Sixes to contort itself into a structure that allowed for little, if any wiggle. The single edge was of a fineness unlike any recorded observation, and when in use by the right long branch point, it was engaged in the splitting and shortening many different odd masses. Most of which still had the hallmark Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six chain, although shorter.

Each time the edge of the wand came in contact with its target, it was plain that the target was much more agitated and jumpy than the edge. While the edge did alter slightly, the rigid matrix of Twenty-Sixes refused to change shape in response, and as each contact event occurred, the agitation level of the target was observed to fall.

Smear?

Flittering from end to end, from wand to wand, was becoming wonderfully commonplace. It was shortly after the feeling of overwhelm began to subside that I began to realize that the wands were in contact with more than just the repressive left and right branch points. Often times, at the far ends of the wands would be contact with masses of atoms

Composed of odd and recognizable interlinks of mainly Ones, Sixes, Sevens and Eights, it seemed that the contact masses may have once been as animated as Ben. This was deduced by the often present Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six strands. It was good that I was able to race back to the branch-point at will — a luxury afforded by the wands composed of Forty-Sevens.

Having increased confidence, I began to follow the far ends of the wands, applying the same trick that I used to look at both branch points, I began to bounce from one branch point to the other — it seemed that at times, the wand with the many points would switch form one branch point to another, while the single edged was rarely found down the left side.

Dither

With the experience of watching Ben try to become a conductor, I decided that it would be a very good idea to practice hopping from left to right, between the long branch points. Having the wonderful wands of Forty-Sevens helped with the fun part of learning. In not too many tries, I got the path locked in and began travelling farther down each wand with every trip.

Practice makes perfect, and with so many opportunities of late to head for the speedy Forty-Seven wands, it was after just a few of these wanded gatherings that I felt that I could effectively be in both places at once. If the pathways that I travelled was just a bit faster, there would be no doubt as to my co-location, but alas, I am limited by the same restrictions that the network itself abides by. For this reason, I really never see more than half the picture, if that, when zipping back and forth.

It is good, then, that the complex motions occurring during these wanded gatherings are extended and repeated often. It allows the observation of each event from a slightly different perspective. By compiling the set of experiences, a better understanding of the general event is possible. I am amazed that the slow central network can make both of these branch points work simultaneously and in cooperation.

Fancy

I spent the next several activity cycles engaged in study. A number of people, though fewer than at the party, were present. In contrast to the party, however, the engagements of conversation were much longer and occurred during an activity in which wonderful conductive wands composed of slippery Forty-Sevens with a few Twenty-Nines here and there to keep things from drooping.

Forty-Sevens are the so much slicker than Fifties, that it pains me when such a common wands composed mainly of Fifties, with a smattering of Fifty-Ones, some Twenty-Nines, and on rare occasions, some Eighty-Twos or Eighty-Threes. There are so few of those larger atoms, it becomes difficult to just feel the difference.

Still, for whatever reason, the Forty-Sevens are out and available for play. With so many people and conversation, it seems that Ben always has one of these wonderful wands resting comfortably across the flexible portions of an upper long branch point. I must be careful, as in an instant was a brief disconnect, and I had to wait patiently for contact so that I did not get left behind.

Respite

As things in the central network began to rev back to normal levels, I decided that I would check the left long branch point. Shortly, I had the answer that I was looking for. Somehow, for some reason, Ben had not let go of the linked rings made of mainly Twenty-Nines and Thirties. Such an action would have made Ben part of the discharge circuit.

What was most amazing is the fact that there was not a major loss of attitude. I seem to recall that the first time that I encountered Ben, the situation was distinctly similar, however, the period of disconnect was longer and the reset not nearly as fast. I had not begun to decode patterns as yet, I had not entered or found the central network.

Apparently, things are not entirely at optimum with my benefactor. While there are still sufficient photon levels and the detectors are functional, they seem to be shuttering and there is preparation for an inactive period. Perhaps one is deserved, considering the fairly massive current that was just endured. While this may be a normal event for an Electron like me, I am fairly certain that it is highly abnormal for Ben and people in general.

Restart

Somehow I managed to hang on to my Eleven until the charge transfer was nearly complete. As thing settled down, I hopped off and began the trek back to the central network. Things appeared normal as I travelled along the pathway and back up the superhighway. Arriving at the central network, it was as dormant.

Scanning more deeply into the network that was possible before, basic activity was present in some of the lower portions. Everything else was quiet in a way that was unlike the normal inactive period, when the photon detectors are shuttered. In this case, the detectors were functional, but the outputs were not generating responses from the rest of the network.

As time passed in the eerie quiet, familiar patterns began to flow once again. Some areas were just basic patterns, but growing more complex. Other areas began to spin rapidly, searching and probing the records that are stored within the network. For all the spinning and searching, not once did the big "ah-ha" pattern appear.

Blast

I found my way back to the long branch-point, which was still in contact with the simple entity. Shortly after returning, contact ceased, and I found that it was increasingly difficult to maintain position on the surface Eleven that I had managed to glom onto. An increasing push began, and that meant only one thing — I was being brought closer to a large charge.

This was not a new phenomenon, as I had observed many times that Ben would check to see that a Jar was charged by bringing a clenched branch-point into proximity of the central conductor, and allowing a small transfer of electrons to occur. Considering that the pair of nearby jars contained 56 doublings of my own charge, at high agitation, the check should pass easily. And pass is just what the charge did.

Normally, there is not a good path from a branch-point to the outside of the Jar, and not much transfer occurs. In this case, a very good pathway to the outside facilitated a rapid transfer. I got blasted along the surface of the branch point, and found myself quite disoriented as my Eleven pitched and heaved during the conflagration created by the transfer of all 56 doublings of charge.

Griff

While passing through the central network, which is the fastest way to change lanes on the superhighway, I took note of the fact that there was quite a bit of activity in the compression-relaxation sensors, with output happening at times. There were odd sounds too, sounds that did not match any patterns of communication that I had seen before, and input only.

galoogloggloggleloggle galogglelooggleloggle gallooooggglegogglegoggle

Flittering down the pathways to the alternate long-branch point, I found that there was some odd contact with the source of the odd sound. I slipped into this other, much smaller network through an oddly similar surface. The scale was different, but the underlying structure, while shorter, smaller and more compact, was much the same.

Taking a quick trip through the central network of this entity, it was immediately clear that this was not a person. Much more basic and simple. While the speed of the patterns is the same, the patterns exhibit natural organization and not much beyond that. Even with these limits, it was still possible to tell that Ben had hold of this situation.

Ahoy?

With so many Electrons massed nearby, I thought that it might be a good idea to run a scan for Bob. Sure, there's almost an uncountable number of us, but it should not take long. Jumping from my perch, I dove down the superhighway and headed for the long branch points. To my surprise, my odd left-first search turned up a surprise.

There was major contact between the outer covering and a very familiar set of conductive loops. Made of Twenty-Nines and Thirties in a familiar proportion, I was curious as to why Ben would be making contact like this, but felt that I had plenty of time to take a quick trip down the links.

Completing the survey, the links allow transport between the outer sheets of the two large Jars. At nearly 55 doublings each, the pair made 56. The agitation level was not nearly the same as when I found myself in a set of Jars that were connected to the Eighty-Two bridge. The taps for Bob went unanswered, so I decided to head back up the links. Luckily, contact was continuing, and I had no difficulty in re-integrating with the electron pathways back to the central network.

Insight

The periodic inactivity and change in patterns of the central network continues. Of my experiences, observation of this central network has been the most interesting, mainly because it is constantly changing. The fact that this network is organized and structured, makes it possible to acquire new bits of data and information.

For example, I've learned that there is a word for the structure that Ben uses to hold large quantities of Electrons with high potential. It's called a Jar. There are sheets of Fifties on the outside and the inside, and commonly, the interior contains a massive number of One-Eight-Ones, which are not really helpful. I recall hanging out with 50 doublings of my own charge on just such a structure, but the agitation level with very high and Electrons left constantly.

While it may not seem like it's that much larger, there is another Jar, actually two, that are much larger than the common Jar. Easily housing 55 or more doublings, these massive Jars hold so much charge that I am pulled and pushed around even while resting comfortably in my network observation perch.

Familiar

Inactivity is a bit of a misnomer, since it is during this period of time that the central networks of people do most of the work that keeps the network clear and focused. Only the photon detectors are truly inactive, and even then, they are still responsive to stimulus. In between brief but light bursts from the photon detectors, the central network continued to process and replay.

The familiarity of the patters was reassuring, as I had invaded a highly organized network, and perhaps one that I had already experienced. It was not too long ago that I was dislodged into an odyssey of inactive structures and that monster of a molecule. While interesting, the experience is incomparable to the excitement of hanging out here in a central network, and cracking the pulse-codes that flicker by.

The photon detectors popped to life and things began to operate in a controlled manner. In a short time, it was very clear that this was indeed, the same organized network that I had left some time ago, just to explore. I had no clue how difficult it would be to find my way back. I'm definitely going to be more careful, when out on the edge networks and outer interface.

Person

Getting pulled off the structure of Twenty-Nines and Thirties was a a welcome change. It took very little time to realize that I had been transferred to a fully animated structure bounded by the familiar Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six chains and their impossibly large structures. Scanning for Elevens, almost by instinct, I was successful, and spun in that direction.

Things looked very familiar, yet different. It had been quite some time since I had observed operating transport pathways and networks, as the ones that were near that 876 Proton monster were dormant and deformed. What was to the left was now to the right and vice-versa. Regardless, I queued myself for a ride on the transport network.

It was not a period of high activity, and the wait to climb aboard the transmission area in the waiting room of the Elevens was much longer that I remember. After a time, I rocketed down the pathway and popped up inside a central network that was slowing down and preparing for an inactive period. Not to be unwelcome, an inactive period would give me a chance catch my bearings and figure out what kind of person I had managed to climb aboard.

Uptake

Now that I was free to roam without have to counteract the strange periodic forces, I began to keep vigil by keeping out on the edges away from the core of the structure. I was surprised to see passing paired Sevens, a reminder of long ago. This is where it will happen, if it is going to happen at all.

I was getting good at avoiding the Thirties when we were getting pushed around, and it remained a good idea. After being idle for so long, there was a terrific bend of the orbits that subsided quickly. Flipping back to the surface of the structure, I was surprised to sense a number of One-Eight-Ones in proximity, overshadowing the normal and nominal concentration of paired Sevens.

Then there was a friendly pull. Contact occurred, and there was a transfer of charge from the loop structure. Being up on the outside, I had the first shot a jumping over and lept. Good thing that I was up top. Had I been too deep, I may never have made it. The flow was slow and sparse, with none of the snap or force that I'd experienced in other, more rapid and voluminous transfers.

Looped

It did not take too many circuits before I knew where the Thirties were, and could push my trajectory to just miss their disruptive influence. While they did not stop electrons from being liberated by this odd bending phenomenon, the Thirties certainly gave enticable Electrons much less reason to jump in and go with the flow.

Once the obvious bumps in the path were handled, analysis of the envelope became much easier. Most of the time, the envelope was the same, but the amplitude would change once in a while. While the amplitude would differ, the timing was very consistent for most excursions, with changes in amplitude and timing happening together.

When I started this, the frequency of each bending event was fairly consistent. While the events did not happen continuously, when they did happen, they were consistent. Now, when they occur, the pace is off and slower. The slower the pace, the lower the amplitude. Things have gotten quiet. Too quiet. Perhaps I should keep alert and be aware. I've seen this pattern before, but not while in a place such as this.

Rush

Mesmerized is a nice way to describe it. Watching the flexible orbits of the Twenty-Nines is changing the way I look at reality. The orbits are normal for a time, and then they flex. This makes it easier for the Electrons to jump off of one Twenty-Nine and onto another, creating a nice flow. The flow begins as a trickle, ramps up to a steady peak and then ebbs back to nothing as the orbits re-entangle nearby Electrons.

Getting into this little dance was not so difficult. Letting it push me around the loop in fits and stops was uneasy at first, but became tolerable after a few cycles. There was a nice rhythm to this, a rhythm that was hauntingly familiar. Not all of the cycles were the same, and by watching the patterns of the occasional Twenty-Six and other oddball atoms, I began to gauge a sense of the force and the envelope, and to categorize the differences.

The biggest difference is that direction of movement can change. Other than direction, there is quantity and distance. Sometimes, the cascade is large and other times, the number of loops we make is quite astounding. At other times, its just a trickle for just a few atoms. The real trick is to keep away from the Thirties that just spoil all the fun.

Flopsy?

When I had to make a choice between the nice endless loop of Twenty-Nines and Thirties, and that odd rod of mainly Twenty-Sixes, I will admit that the bigger atoms were much easier to ride. An occasional Twenty-Six is not a bother, but a whole conductor of them, well, that's another matter entirely.

Looking for a spot in a mess of Twenty-Sixes and the wannabe Twenty-Eight usually means bumping another Electron out of the way and taking it. You would not believe some of the taps that I've gotten in response to actions like that. I am learning to be more patient, but there are some Electrons that are just plain ornery.

I don't know if it's just me, or if there is something wrong with the Twenty-Nines. Anyplace there is not a Thirty within easy pull, the Twenty-Nines seem to by suffering from some kind of distortion in to their orbits. This is not the normal blorple that happens when we Electrons get a little to close in those odd outer orbits. This is vastly different. The tops and bottoms get bent to one side and then another, while the middle of the orbit is pretty much the same, but the bends change too.

Conduct

The occasional Twenty-Six was no bother at all. The Twenty-Nines and Thirties were as free and easy as I remember. Spin-flipping my way in any direction I desire, this group of conductive atoms is a wonderful reward for taking the chance on that moving Eleven. It even lets me take a quick look at the overall shape of this object, since I can move so easily.

Four corners of equal shape are at the farthest points on this conductive structure. The edges are straight, and there are four of them, at least on the outside. Inside, there are actually eight edges, also straight, but four of these edges are less than half the length of the other four.

Unlike the outer edges, two of the long edges are composed of Twenty-Sixes, and are built from a single long-circle. It its always a circle if you cut through it, but it is a long edge if you follow the parallel edge on the interior of the Twenty-Nine and Thirty Structure. Between the inner and outer edges is a bulging but still smooth arch of Twenty-Nines and Thirties, regardless of which side you decide to use to get from inner to outer edge.

Landed

Following the path, and sticking to my Eleven brought us not to the landing zone, but to the destruction zone. The Seventeens were being pulled into an odd union where the anticipated Twenty-Nines and Thirties were in contact with and structure of mainly Twenty-Sixes. The Seventeens were attracted to this junction, and were being rapidly combined with Twenty-Sixes, and liberating dozens of Electrons.

For every three Seventeens that that approached the Twenty-Sixes, a singleton Twenty-Six would become ensnared with the trio, and speed off into the abundant soup of One-Eight-Ones. This small structure of Twenty-Sixes, while inviting, would eventually disappear. Since the Seventeens were doing all the work, the Elevens began to pile up.

From this pile of Elevens, I made an easy transition to the Twenty-Nine and Thirty section, which was many times larger than the structure of Twenty-Sixes. It has been so long since I was on a conductor, the ease of moving was a welcome change from dealing with the One-Eight-Ones and their strange soup of assorted atoms.

Sought

The fact that I was moving away from the 876 monster was enough good for me. Long ago, I recognized that I moved best in groups, and I had found a decent one. Even though I was stuck to the outside of an Eleven that would have gladly traded my electronicity to the Nineteen that was following ever so closely. I knew I was better off moving than staying put on that monster.

What had my curiosity most piqued was the fact that this was not random movement, but linear. This is the only explanation for the approach and retreat of the One-Eight(+N)-One that I tracked earlier. While this movement of charge may appear infinitesimal to some, here, it is the maker of success. Failure, while not unknown, is not a viable option, and this was beginning to bother me. Not for the reason that I may be incorrect, but more for the reason that the unknowable has the potential for infinite retribution.

Scanning proved to be the preserver of sanity. I began to detect the tap patterns of something the size of a Twenty-Nine or a Thirty. To my delight, we had found friendly assistance in a time of need, and all that remains is to make contact. Course dead ahead, looking for the Landing Zone.

Migration

My gaggle of Elevens had some odd friends, in the form of a set of Seventeens that kept the Elevens in-line. This helped us slide amongst the few One-Eight-Ones that were interspersed and busy with the dormant mega-molecules that form the matrix of this nearly impenetrable object.

As much as I tried to influence the course of the Eleven in this bumper-fest of molecules, it just did not work. Locked into the pull of the Seventeen, the Eleven was unresponsive. I had far better luck with the pair of Sevens of long ago, but then again, they were not continuously caroming off of One-Eight-Ones and their slippery companions.

Getting this close to the One-Eight-Ones, I noticed that one of them had that extra Neutron thing making this particular molecule unique easy to locate on multiple scans. It also moved a little funny with the extra Neutron in there. At first, it was getting closer, and just after I discovered the odd nucleus, it passed and began retreating. Then I realized why I was having so much trouble. It was not the One-Eight-Ones that were passing us, we were passing them. The outer orbits were just a little bit off the norm, and this was moving the nucleus.

1 2 3 Go!

I kept tracking the Nineteen, in hopes that it respond to my desire and head in my direction. Instead, it wandered so far away that it fell below the noise of the Eights. I kept scanning for Nineteens and Twenties when I detected what I though might be some Twenties. Considering my current record versus entropy, I had my doubts.

My pessimism was not to be ignored. Turns out that is was not Twenties, but a whole gaggle of Elevens, and in quite a different configuration that what I had encountered in the waiting areas of the high speed pathways. This time, entropy was working to assist, and as much as I would have preferred the cozy snugness of a Nineteen or a Twenty, having several Elevens to choose from was more than enticing.

So, off from the monster I lept, and onto the good view and easy freedom of the nearest Eleven that floated within range. As the overall pull of the 876 Proton monster ebbed, I found myself wondering an odd thought; Could I have been truely happy on such a repetitive molecule?

Swamp

Explored the multi-ringed monster and counting up 876 Protons was easier than I thought. What is harder, is getting off this ride. I've managed to get out onto the odd branch, and out to the end, where the Eight-One and its neighbors are doing the repulsion thing. After a little spin-flip battle, I took-up residence orbiting the Eight and slipping around the One occasionally.

Being the first time I've had the opportunity to see an Eights up close, it appears that this one is a little bigger. While Neutrons are hard-er to count than Protons, you can do it if you get close enough. It seem that this particular eight is just a little odd, as there is one more Neutron down there than is common. If it is a problem, it might get interesting around here at any moment.

The view from the protruding One is much better. Even just that bonding distance is enough to clear the field so that I can scan the surrounding area, and perhaps find a friendly Eleven, Nineteen or Twenty. Considering that most everything I can discern is an Eight or smaller, something with twice the Protons of a Eight should be — Ding! — yes, within easy scanning distance.

# !!!!!!

I discovered the technique of counting doublings of charge as a way to cope with the massive numbers of Electrons that I found myself intermingling with on the large sheets of Fifties. It may not seem like a good way to count large numbers, but it does work.

Not long ago, there was a notation for my numerical talk-taps. If you look for that entry, you can apply it to this special message, since the title is in that notation. You will notice that there are no additional dots, and this is why this message is a special one. It is not always easy to hit the message slot, and it is understandably short.

I know that people have lots of ideas about Electrons, and other people have nary a clue as to the how or the why, of what it is to be an Electron, and how we function. But they sure do like what we do. This is that story, from how I see it. My world really is simple, and thanks for taking the time to leave yours for a little while and glimpse into mine, as it continues to unfold.

Tally

At a final count of ten complete rings of six-up Sixes, the odd ring in the middle with five Sixes and an Eight and, two Sixes for structure on each of the four identical dual-ring pairs, and three more structural Sixes on the oddball double-ring, I get a nice reason to use that new counting method that I discovered. Where I would say seventy-six Sixes, I can say 76-Sixes. I notice that it happens to be twelve Sixes more than six doublings. Yea, 76-Sixes. I can begin to like this.

The inner Six-ring on the double ring structures also has three Eight-One groups, except that the second ring attaches to the third Eight. For those that have been following, that totals 46-Eights. This comes from eight Eights per double-ring structure, two of which are structural, and the remaining six Eights that surround and modify the central ring.

Rounding out this menagerie are a total of 52-ones. If you follow he rule of four connections per Six and two connections per Eight, you can easily see where all the Ones fall. This comes to a grand total of 876 Protons in this entire structure, making it the largest thing that I have counted completely. In old counting, that is nine doublings, plus another eight doublings and another six doublings plus five more doublings and another twelve singles after that. 876 is just easier.

Fifth

At the end of the end-ring of the five double-ring branches are three sets of Eight-One combinations, attached to the three Sixes that are directly opposite the Six attached to by the structural Six. This lowly Six is bent by a double-attached Eight, and a single-attached Eight that bonds to the other ring. This makes an odd angle.

It's the triple of Eight-One combinations that catch my interest. With one side of the Eight attached to a Six in the ring, the solo Electron that belongs to the one on the opposite side of the eight, spends much more time on the eight, exposing the proton of the One for the world to see. This makes the outer Eight-One pairs push away from the central pair, creating a fan out, that is capable of attracting the negative side of loosely coupled atoms that can be found with an extra Electron.

Seventeens, Twenties, and oddly enough, the Eight-One has a strange affinity for One-Eight-Ones as a whole. Grabbing them until they get so anxious that they jump away from their brothers in flight acting like a pair of Sevens, the slippery devils that are the One-Eight-One demonstrate their notorious abilities.

Coincidence?

Adroit Sixes are a sight to behold. It is in their ring structure where the alternating double and single bonds create an amazing strength and the flexibility for each Six in the ring to acquire something else adds to the amazement. As observed, a single One can act as a very neutral placeholder on this ring, or an Eight can half-connect instead and then bond on to something else.

Within this monster, there are five double ring structures, each of which is virtually identical, with the exception that one of them has an extra Six, extending the connection chain. It appears that this allows the fifth Double-Ring to wiggle and sway in a way that the others can not.

I find a striking similarity between the atomic bond structure and properties of this monster and the long branch-points that people have on each of the shorter, yet closer to the network, extremities. The curiosity over the fact that this single monster of a molecule has a radial structure that is similar to a much much larger massive structure of billions of atoms, strikes me in a smattering of most interesting ways. Could it be that all of this is interrelated?

Enamour

I realize that I've made this monster somewhat simpler that it really is, but that's because I was looking at things from a very broad perspective. If there is any one trick that I can propagate, it is the ability to get a good look at the entire situation before delving into the details. This is one of the reasons that I just stay away from the ever-massive Seven-Six-Six-repeating-chains.

Looking at each of the five double-ring structures of this monster, It becomes apparent that this inner double ring of Eights really belongs to the attached sub-groups of atoms, rather than to the central core. This explains some of the oddball angles that I see, but likely has allot to do with the Sixes and the fact that they take up to four other atoms all equidistant on their sphere. That makes a very interesting shape.

Four points, four planes. Each plane a triangle, that is equilateral, and yet, a Six just does this without effort. It just happens with these things. Perhaps it has to do with the way we Electrons work, staying as far away as we can. To me, this seems natural, and yet, in the world of atoms, only the Six, so far, has such pristine symmetry and capability.

Flexible

If anything, I've achieved a higher respect for the power of an Eight and the flexibility of a Six. While the Eight can grab tightly onto a neighbor, it can only maintain two stable linkages. A Six, on the other hand, maintains up to four links, and can even make double links with other Sixes and even an Eight. Of course, this is all that the Eight can do, but it's not going anywhere.

This has been learned since I am able to easily flip my way around this monster. The presence of the Eights and their extra power, make it possible to move easily, since they tend to pull other Electrons in, making slight positive charges for me to zoom toward and carom off of.

With the exception of the odd-Eight in the central ring of Sixes, this structure looks like it is a ring of Sixes, surrounded by a double, but twisted, ring of Eights that amplify the odd connection angle of the Sixes.

Outside the double ring of Eights are five nearly identical double-ring structures, that are themselves linked through a weakly bonded Six-Eight link-up. While these links are weaker than the double variety, they are still very strong, and allow the rest of the structure to twist and rotate as needed.

Sticky

Yes, the Seven-Six-Six repeated chains are the largest single set of interconnected and linked atoms that I have observed, yet they remain quite indescribable. This is not due to the length, but the variability of what is suspended from the chain and the order in which it appears, makes a huge difference on the structure.

While not nearly as large and difficult to ride as the Seven-Six-Six chains, the One-Eight-Ones that still remain on this barren domain were caught in a state of entrancement. It appears that they are attracted to numerous Eight-One pairs, where the Eight has been latched onto by a Six. The Sixes themselves form a ring of sorts, as three pairs of Sixes.

There are ten of these ringed sets of Sixes, with an oddball eleventh ring at the center of five groups of two rings of Sixes. The center ring is odd for the fact that one of the Sixes has been replaced by an Eight, and the sixth Six is hanging off the fifth Six, up and away. With the exception of the Eight, the four remaining Sixes in the ring all have Eights-and-more hanging from them, and alternate between down and up angles, save for the last, next to the Eight, which is parallel with the central odd ring.

Dancing

Most of the One-Eight-Ones that I arrived with have been repelled by the chains of Sixes that are studded with Ones. The rings of six Sixes that I have encountered, also do their share to keep One-Eight-Ones from going deeply into the fibers that make up this non-pulsing object. This just looks like it should be an active construct, but alas, looking deep, I find no patterns that indicate the presence of a central network.

I've even found some structures that resemble working pathways, but the One-Eight-Ones that are needed along with all of the other odd atoms that I have seen, just are not there. It is, therefore, no small wonder that they are dormant. Inspecting one of them lead to another surprise. It stopped. Just. Plain. Stopped.

Funny thing was, that I found a whole cluster of One-Eight-Ones that appeared to be a little distorted, and more stationary than not. Such an odd grouping too. Approaching a bit closer, I began to notice that these One-Eight-Ones are not paired with a single Eleven or a Nineteen, as loose as such parings are, these One-Eight-Ones were surrounding something larger. Much larger.

Soak

Things did not stay spherical in formation for long. With no warning, my little ball of One-Eight-Ones merged with a more sheetlike form, and from the masked Proton pulls, I could tell that I was now in contact with something much larger. Moving from the tiny ball, that I somehow got trapped with, to something larger was a relief, of sorts.

I had managed to find a Nineteen that had room to spare, and I was waiting to see where I would end up, when things became a bit more stable. Nineteens have a good grip, and that impedes my view somewhat. It's a bit better from an Eleven, but sometimes it's catch as catch can.

The number of One-Eight-Ones nearby diminished, and long strands of familiar Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six began to loom up, as the One-Eight-Ones continued to diminish. Long chains of Sixes and some loops of Sixes, surrounded as usual, by Ones came into view once I began to ignore the ever present Seven-Six-Six chains. Funny thing is, as I would expect there to be some clusters of Elevens and transport pathways, there is no activity to home in on.

Drop

I got a real surprise today while traveling on the outer surface of my benefactor. I had zipped out of my hiding spot, after noticing and abnormal dip in photons, and getting kicked once by an unexpected blast from a plasma that was passing by just a little close. After arriving at the edge of one of the longer five-way branch points, I sat between an Eleven and its companion One-Eight-One, since the view is better from the midpoint rather than orbiting the Eleven.

This, would become a problem, since the companion One-Eight-One received company in the form of mass of One-Eight-Ones that simply wreaked havoc with my stable little observation post. Spinning wildly, looking to grab onto the Eleven, if I could find it. No doubt, it had a new fleet of companions, and was swapping freely amongst the deluge of One-Eight-Ones.

Lucky for me, there were enough things other than One-Eight-Ones, that movement was possible. A scan of the object revealed no trace of my benefactor. No chained Seven-Six-Six-Seven-Six-Six formations, just an outer layer of One-Eight-Ones that was mostly spherical.

Wane

It seems that we're past the peak of excitation, judging from the more relaxed state of the One-Eight-Ones that I find in the outer reaches of my kind host. While the cycle of activity and inactivty continues with the change in photon counts, it seems that the lower count period is becoming longer. What is odd is that I have not encountered a sheet of Fifties in many cycles.

This is not to say that there have not been massive numbers Electrons. When several dozen doublings of my buddies go rumbling by, I tend to take notice. It's hard not too, with the force that they exert, and the penchant that this person has for venturing toward these large events. With the experience that I've had with plasmas, it's not something that I particularly enjoy.

Regardless of my fears, it is interesting none the less. Getting pushed about while in my favorite network viewing spot, or forced to find the shelter of an Eleven or even a Nineteen as I scan the outer edges, the memories are vivd. I seem to recall such forces just before talking to Bob, keeping left then flowing down the conductor and crossing the Eighty-Two bridge.

Warming

I'd spent too much time working on patterns in the central network, and thought that it would be good to traverse the edge networks, and the outer surface. Two reasons. First, I might find something interesting that I've not seen before. Second, it's so simple and quiet out here.

My trips to the edge during high-activity sessions of the central network, change over the active period. It seems that during the time when the photon detectors are processing the greatest counts, there is a higher concentration of One-Eight-Ones, Elevens, Seventeens and the odd Nineteen. The One-Eight-Ones are also bigger. They span more space than they do when I check them during periods of non-activity, or just before shutdown.

Lately, the perturbed and more excited state has been more prevalent than not, and generally, it is not until there is a peculiar randomness to the central network impulses and patterns, that the shutdown occurs. In many cases, it is not until well into the shutdown phase that the excitation that the One-Eight-Ones demonstrate, fades back to the less energetic state that I remember from not too long ago.

Cortex

It may be true that the central network, at least each small part of it, is much slower than the electrons, like me, that drive it. This does not mean that I am able to outrun these networks, since it is clear that it is working continuously, throughout its volume. While this limits my observation, it helps with my understanding.

There are times when I can see pulses traveling in other areas, and then there is a great confluence of patterns, usually followed by some kind of activity. Even the activities of people are just more patterns, and some of these patterns appear to be produced by some of the pathways themselves, especially the patterns that help to propel people around their environment.

While I am somewhat able to direct myself, in many cases, I am forced to orbit some atom until the opportunity to exchange with an Electron in a better position. People do not seem to move and maneuver in orbits, or flip their spin to change their destination — they just go forward in whichever direction they choose to go — but we know that there have to be some boundaries...

GIGO?

Patterns within. Patterns without. Patterns of patterns is what people seem to be made of. It is of more than passing curiosity that the central network is nimble when it comes to recognizing patterns that are present in sound and in photons. When it comes to sound, the most interesting aspect is the decomposition that occurs, and the importance that is given to the to the rising and falling edges of the wave patterns that compose the easier sounds.

It is possible to mix a great many simple tones together into a complex pattern, and as such, the network can discern not only the original tones, but has a great appreciation and resonance with the results of these simple tones combining to create great peaks of energy and ebbing to the softness of a whisper.

It is also worth noting that a great range of sound can be produced, although of a single tone or wave, by People. Not to be hampered by this, their ability to take an input and reproduce it, sometimes poorly at first, and then refine it to match the original pattern, is uncanny. This is a trick that appears to be at the core of pattern building and pattern transfer and the whole concept of communication. And I though talk-taps were cool.