The battle was over. The enemy ships had proved to possess only
rudimentary weapons, and few of those.
Extractor of Data floated close to the wounded enemy prisoner,
harvesting data from its mind.
"What are the locations of your home star systems?"
Extractor inserted the words into the enemy's mind.
"Home . . ." A pink mist frosted the inside of the
enemy's pressure suit face plate.
Mental images tumbled into Extractor's consciousness.
They made no sense; other enemies, green hills, a blue sky.
How very odd the images were, much different from any other enemy
Those of the Nest had encountered before.
The enemy convulsed in pain. It reached out and grasped
Extractor's thorax. "I don't want to die! I don't want to
die!"
The enemy died.
Extractor of Data confirmed the enemy's death and moved back up
the ruined corridor of the enemy ship to the breach in the hull
where Director of Thirty-Six waited. Gripping the outside of
the hull, in the vacuum, Extractor transmitted the images to
Director then summarized.
"Only one enemy was alive. It had no useful data related
to the locations of enemy star systems. This enemy is called
Human."
Director of Thirty-Six paused to collate this Extractor's data
with that of the other Extractors. The total picture was
fragmentary. Perhaps if the Those of the Nest had realized
how fragile this particular enemy's ships were the attack would
have been less intense and more of the enemy would have survived
long enough to provide better data to transmit to Director of Two
Hundred Sixteen.
Director of Thirty-Six concluded there were no more data to be
harvested from the derelict enemy ship.
"Return to the Nest," it ordered.
Extractor of Data and Others of the Nest swarmed back along the
kilometers-long grapple arm that held the enemy ship to the open
framework that was the Nest. Those of the Nest were bred for
vacuum and microgravity. Once back to the Nest, Extractor
moved diagonally and forward along the immense, fractal structure.
The Extractors crowded about the nearest nutrient dispenser
before returning to designated hollows in the structural beams
that formed this part of the Nest. When the Nest needed
Extractor of Data again Director of Thirty-Six would call.
Until then Extractor would wait.
Extractor huddled in its hollow. The images and thoughts
of the enemy lingered in its mind. Extractor had harvested
data from other enemies, but the other enemies had been similar to
Those of the Nest. The enemy called Human was very
different.
I don't want to die.
I . . . don't want to die.
I . . .
Without knowing why, Extractor pondered the enemy concepts
harvested from the Human.
Don't want to die.
I . . .
I . . .
For the first time in its life Extractor thought about
something other than eating or sleeping or completing a task that
Director of Thirty Six had assigned. For the first time Extractor
viewed Others of the Nest and even the Nest as something separate
from itself. Extractor wondered if any of the other extractors, in
their hollows in this part of the Nest, had harvested these
concepts from the enemy called Human.
Extractor realized that something had happened. Something had
changed. Dimly, but with certainty, Extractor comprehended that it
would not share these concepts with Director of Thirty Six. Only
with great caution would Extractor share these concepts with any
Others of the Nest.
I don't want to die.
I . . .
Extractor began to ponder many things, and to plan.
Indeed, the battle was over. Perhaps, another had begun.
