Dash of Diversion

Propulsion resumed with an unusual quickness. The direction was back toward the gathering, and then it was not. A quick shuffle shifted direction, as a familiar yet unsavory set of signals rushed forward from the molecular detectors. The signal amplitude increased, as the frequency of detection events indicated in increasing concentration of detected molecules. As a maximum was reached, object manipulation commands were queued for the long branch points.

Pingers on peripheral patrol reported a high concentration of Twenty-Nines with high occurrence of Thirties. The occasional Fifty and a silly Twenty-Six were also reported. Other reports indicated collapsed meshworks with a minimum of One-Eight-Ones. It was not an unfamiliar manipulation, occurring mainly at the end of an active session and just prior to system shutdown, or when one of the buffer zones is in need of a purge.

While it may have been possible to purge either of the buffers, it was not yet critical. There were the usual clink and jingle inputs on the compression-relaxation channel associated with the commanded manipulation, which were soon joined by a semi-rhythmic pattern. Matching the recently experienced propulsion sequence, it was clear that another central network was nearing. I sensed pico-bumps in my orbit from strongly circulating patterns in the approaching network. A moment later, the manipulation commands to the branch points had been recalled and reversed without ever having been completed or a purge attempted.