‘We are unable to remedy the faults in this system. It is failing, becoming less efficient despite the increase in power being fed into the greater machine, and no investigation we have conducted has produced a remedy.’ ‘How long have you been investigating this?’ asked Navradaran. ‘Five hundred and thirty-seven years, standard Terran. We are no nearer to a solution than we were at the outset. In the meantime, the component continues to degrade. We estimate total failure within a century or two, in the best case. Within a decade, in the worst case.’ The dwarf let that sink in. No one spoke for
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