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.