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.