be

from this conversatio

of the norg. "May I give you an answer in a few minutes?"
"Of course," said Copernicus. "But I emphasize—time may be growing short."
Antares squinted at the robot. She gestured to the security-norgs to keep an eye on it while she retired to the next room. To think. And to pack a bag.

* * *

"It has begun," Napoleon said softly.
"Mokin' foke," Bandicut whispered, watching through the magellan-fish's eye the advancing line of light and behind it the explosions, like distant fireworks, of atmospheric storage tanks.
Ik was visible as a ghostly outline against the strange, watery space that was the inner world of the magellan-fish. When he spoke, his voice reverberated oddly. "Why does this structure's defensive system not work?"
"And where J