Horses Spared

A somewhat familiar clattering was intercepted across the compression-relaxation input channels. As the clattering drew to a halt, propulsion pulses were queued and executed. A drop in temperature was recorded once again by the areas responsible for gradients and thermal control. The coverings helped to prevent excessive energy loss when the gradient was steep. Propulsion ended with a upward tick, and a relaxed position was taken up. While the gradient remained steep, there was a reduction in losses to uncovered areas.

I headed upward and outward into the whorlic shield zone, pushing my limits once again in an effort to detect what networks and patters were detectable. It was a somewhat familiar setup, with two large and idle networks forward and a popping network scrambling farther upward to a perch where commands were issued via the compression-relaxation channel. The result of the perched network's actions was to activate propulsion pulses in the two large idle networks, and once again, the familiar clattering resumed.

I had to adjust nulls and offsets to compensate for field distortions caused by the velocity of the central network. The degree of adjustment revealed that transport was far more rapid than direct propulsion on the distant short branch points, and the clattering had become a consistent pattern that matched the propulsion waveforms coursing through the large forward networks. Perhaps such a network would be interesting to experience, for a short time.