Hatch

Thousands of years have passed since the Great Ship fled the galaxy. That world-sized machine is still covered with the ocean-like remains of its enemy, the Polypond. Humans and other aliens survive only in a rough city perched high on one of the rocket nozzles, and to feed themselves and grow, those refugees send out raiders to steal treasures from the giant beneath them. And then one day, without warning, something new emerges, and everything is changed.

"The black mass, smooth-faced and distinctly iridescent, was punching its way through a scattering of high clouds. Some of those clouds were alive -- vividly colored bodies as light as aerogel and easily shredded. Other clouds were water stained gray and red with salts and iron, dead cells and other detritus pushed skyward by the mayhem. Their target was tiny compared to the entire hatch, but it was already the tallest feature, and nothing like it had ever been seen before. Raiders bound for distant hunting grounds were noticing it. From hundreds of kilometers overhead, the energies and wild violence were obvious. And even from inside a cocoon of superheated gas, two human eyes could appreciate the beauty of so many frantic bodies doing whatever it was they were doing."

Robert Reed has published scores of stories, quite a few set in the Great Ship universe. THE MEMORY OF SKY is 3 novels published as one volume. THE DRAGONS OF MARROW is soon to arrive.


Genre: Science Fiction