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.