Primary Inversion (Saga of the Skolian Empire) Paperback by Catherine Asaro Page A

and O’s of that
input into thought by making my neurons fire. If an electrode received a 1 it
gave the neuron a brief, tiny shock; if it received a 0, it left the neuron
alone. Similarly, they translated my thoughts into binary output. Bioshells
coated the electrodes, and neurotrophic chemicals kept them from damaging my
brain cells. My web sent messages back to Homer via the second tip of the
psiphon prong.
    Given the complicated nature of the operations to implant a
biomech web, and the years it took to learn to use it if the host body
didn’t reject it—not to mention the required security clearances—few people had
them.
    Another message appeared on the screen: psiphon activated.
    “Slow,” Helda muttered.
    “Allied equipment,” Taas said, as if that explained it.
    Test, I thought.
    The word test appeared
under Homer’s last message.
    parameters? Homer
printed. His response showed in red on the screen, mine were blue. The message
didn’t echo in my mind at all.
    Verify spinal node link, I thought.
    The words verify
sibling appeared on the screen.
    Rex laughed. “Whose sibling are you verifying?”
    “It’s not translating right.” Run diagnostic on psiphon, I
thought. The words run diagonal
deepening glowed on the screen.
    please restate command, Homer printed.
    I tried verbal. “Run a diagnostic on the psiphon.”
    “Running,” Homer said. Then: “I found no problems.”
    I swore under my breath. If the psiphon wasn’t the problem,
it had to be my biomech web. And that was no easy fix. It could mean surgery.
    I pulled the prong out of my wrist and peered at it. A thin
layer of dust covered the head. I rolled it gently between my fingers, cleaning
off the dust, and plugged it back in.
    Verify spinal node connection, I thought.
    verify spinal node connection appeared on the screen.
    verified, Homer
responded.
    I exhaled. Good.
    Ihave A link to the skol-net NOW, Homer printed, if
you
    GIVE ME AN ACCOUNT AND PASSWORDS, I WILL BE PLEASED TO LOG
YOU INTO THE SYSTEM.
    That isn’t necessary. I pressed a panel on the
console marked with the Greek letter.
    The words denied glowed
on the screen.
    “Denied?” Taas asked. “What does that mean?”
    Homer, I thought. Why can’t I enter the psiber gateway?
    I can’t translate “gateway” in this context, Homer printed.
    I want to use the psiber functions of the psiphon.
    THEY AREN’T ENABLED.
    Helda snorted. “Why they have psiphons if they don’t set
them up right?”
    “Maybe they don’t know how,” I said. Homer, can you enable
the psiber functions ?
    I DON’T KNOW. WHAT DO THEY DO?
    The psiphon should be able to boost my mind into
psiberspace.
    THE ONLY TRANSLATION I HAVE FOR PSIBERSPACE IS “HYPOTHETICAL
COMPUTER NETWORK.”
    “Pah,” Helda muttered.
    It’s not hypothetical, I thought. It exists.
    WHERE?
    It’s outside of spacetime. Information there is transmitted
in wavepackets of thought rather than by photons or matter particles.
    IF IT HAS NO SPATIAL LOCATION, HOW CAN I FIND IT?
    It exists everywhere, I thought. The other nodes can receive
our input immediately no matter where they’re located.
    Homer paused. ACCORDING TO MY PHYSICS LIBRARY, THIS REQUIRES
INSTANTANEOUS TRANSMISSION OF DATA ACROSS INTERSTELLAR DISTANCES.
    That’s right.
    THAT VIOLATES THE LAWS OF SPACETIME.
    Psiberspace isn’t in spacetime.
    I CANNOT ACCESS SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF SPACE AND TIME.
    I tried to think of an explanation Homer’s Evolving Intelligence
would understand. In normal space, if I had two particles and I measured the
quantum properties of one, I immediately knew those of the second no matter how
far away it was. In psiberspace, the “measured” property was thought; as fast
as a telepath could form a thought, every user in the star-spanning Skol-Net
could receive it.
    Despite the Allieds’ skepticism about psibernetics, what
they called “pseudo-psience,” they had to realize the Skol-Net was the sole
reason my people survived against the