Metal Rain: Chapter 2 - Nanostorm
“Huh? Who said that?”
The probe had woken up earlier than scheduled, it had picked up a weak signal that differed from the ones that had originally caused its course change.
It analysed the signal that had woken it from its slumber, the origin was around 75 degrees ascending from the plane of the ecliptic, however there was a marked difference between this one and the first.
The probe had been asleep for around 3 years; 2 year(s) 302 day(s) 19 hour(s) 26 minute(s) 42 second(s) to be exact. It had already calibrated for any extra signals it might receive from the approaching star, any similar signals should not have had the effect of waking it up.
“Initiating deep scan.”
It didn’t want to use its deep scan sensors as they were a bigger drain on power than it would have liked. Instead it preferred to reach the system where it could eat and gain strength.
The probe spotted the source of the signal, it could sense many more now, its infrared scanners picked up a dust cloud roughly half a kilometre across and at least twenty deep. The cloud was heading straight for the probe.
It wondered briefly if it should take evasive action, it didn’t want to risk damage being so close to an inhabited system.
*“Hmm.”
Any course change would use up terrific reserves of power, whereas from its analysis it could see that not one fragment of dust from the encroaching cloud was bigger than a few micrometres, barely bigger than the countless solar particles it had encountered on its way. One thing didn’t add up though, the signals emanating from the cloud did not have the exact signature he would expect from a dust cloud of that size and shape.
The probe calculated their respective vectors and saw that it would only pass through the very front of the cloud, when it noticed the cloud changing course.
“Ah, OK . . . I think I understand now.”
It did the machine equivalent of bracing itself.
“Impact in; 7.28367444221 second(s)”
The cloud wasn’t made up of dust, instead it was of billions of tiny machines, probably self-replicating ones like itself.
Though these ones were not from the probe’s home planet, nor would it seem did they emanate from the distant local star, it had wondered a few times if it would ever encounter another probe, and now it had, it didn’t quite know what to do.
The first tiny impacts started to happen just over seven seconds later, the cloud was moving at around 3 percent the speed of light, much slower than the probe but it didn’t matter. Each impact was like a mini grenade going off on its surface.
It now had a clearer idea as to what the signals it had detected earlier were, they weren’t simply noise from the nanocloud. Rather each little machine was talking to the ones around it, much to the probe’s surprise and dismay it did not pass through the cloud as it had hoped, instead the cloud was changing shape to bend around the probe.
It monitored its surface, not all of the tiny machines were surviving the impact but the ones that did immediately got to work in breaking down the outer shell of the probe and recycling the resulting debris.
“Ah, it would seem that they’re eating me.”
The probe watched on in horror as it was slowly devoured by the tiny malevolent machines.
“If I wasn't being eaten, I'd take a moment to wonder at how come I can feel horrified."
Cryptogee Chronicles Book Two: Metal Rain - Chapter 1 - Void Edge
Title image @nekromarinist
Altered by @Cg
Oh no, the poor probe!
Reminds me of the scene at the beginning of "You Only Live Twice" where the Russian spacecraft gets gobbled up by Spectre's bigger spacecraft.
What I realise is so alien about the probe is it's sexlessness, consciousness without gender. I think that's why it's such a fascinating read, trying to get inside the head of something that isn't familar, to which we can't assign familiar tropes of thinking.
It's also weird how much we identify with the probe. It's quite innocent and unspoiled, even though we suspect it will break bad at any moment.
You could end the story there, a sort of "Tales of the Unexpected" twist ending. I'd prefer it if you didn't, as the story feels it's leading somewhere deeper.
Your Hampstead Heath one-man-and-his-dog musings paid off beautifully! :)
I'm glad you've noticed that, it is very deliberate and quite difficult to carry on; I'm constantly having to check that I haven't slipped a 'he' in there :-).
I wrote chapter 3 at the same time to keep this part coherent; I'm just off to edit it now! :-)
Indeed, the dog is going to be the fittest K9 in all of England by the time this has finished; possibly the world! :-D
Cg
Something tells me the probe survives. Waiting for episode 3
May be the inner core of the probe can survive and taken in for interrogation...
It seems that the tiny machines it encountered are much more advanced technologically???
To listen to the audio version of this article click on the play image.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://s18.postimg.org/51o0kpijd/play200x46.png)
Brought to you by @tts. If you find it useful please consider upvoting this reply.
Oh machine consuming machine. Don't call that cannibalism? The probe better not be dying. I don't want a Ned Stark scenario, please.