A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1)

by Vernor Vinge

Lord Steel had not taken his name casually: steel, the most modern of metals; steel, that takes the sharpest edge and never loses it; steel, that can glow red hot, and yet not fail; steel, the blade that cuts for the Flenser. Steel was a crafted person, Flenser’s greatest success.

Brood kenning was a limited form of it, though mainly concerned with gross physical characteristics. Even kenners agreed that a pack’s mental abilities derived from its various members in different measures. One pair or triple was almost always responsible for eloquence, another for spatial intuition. The virtues and vices were even more complex. No single member was the principal source of courage, or of conscience.

He experimented endlessly, discarding all but the most successful results. He depended on discipline and denial and partial death as much as on clever member selection. He already had seventy years of experience when he created Steel.

For the soul in creation, the process was mental chaos, a patchwork of horror and amnesia.

When two people have a clear understanding of power and betrayal, then betrayal itself becomes almost impossible.

There is only the ordered flow of events, bringing good to those who deserve to rule. “The others have equally good … mounts. I made detailed plans, three different paths, three different sets of agents.

We are proud to announce that a human exploration company from Straumli Realm has discovered an accessible archive in the Low Transcend.

This is not an announcement of Transcendence or the creation of a new Power.

Because of its safety, intelligibility, and age, this Archive is remarkable. We believe there is otherwise lost information here about arbitration management and interrace coordination.