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| 23- The Sting of
the Jellyfish. |
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In the meanwhile,
the Jellywhale swallows what remains of the Cycledwellers. Some of the
needles fall off from the armours, others are deeply stuck inside. The
Jellywhale gets close to one of its companions, and, protruding a sort of trunk, exposes the debris of the commando. |
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After
the exchange, the two Jellyfish separate, and the second one starts to
emit a cloud of deadly needles. Proteena follows the procedure with
great interest, and questions the Zymachi about it. The nano machines
are learning Proteena's language very quikly, but give elusive
responses: they know how things work, but don't know what they are.
Under the skin of the Jellywhale, they restlessly spin segments of
spaghetti, that layer by layer define complex structures. "The shapes
help us to recall things", they answer to the curious scientist. |
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| 24- Kerenskij
beyond Enemy Lines. |
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Back
to the lab, we see Hu reporting to a disinterested professor: "I
performed the Boot sequence again, in few minutes we shoud get their
feedback..." but Kerenskij seems careless, some how distant. After a
good minute of silence, he starts claiming that he is inhabited by the
same beings that were sabotaging the Zymachi. He is pervaded by
feelings that are not his own, anguish, fear, rage and desire, in a mix
and intensity never felt before. |
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In
his twenties, he had served under the Red Army during the Afghan
Invasion. They were making first steps in genic warfare, and his duty
was to vaccinate the soldiers in most remote outposts. His helicopter
was shot down, and he, only survivor of the crew, had wandered beyond
enemy lines for weeks, drinking from wells he had contributed to
pollute. It had been an experience that signed him deeply, leading to
the conversion from military to therapeutic research. But never, in
those dramatic days, did he ever feel such anguish, sense of loss and
homesickness. |
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25- Doomsday
for Cycledwellers.
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