"Outpost. World. -oo-o—o-. Has. Stopped. Responding."
In a distant network that stretched across millions of stars, nearly a hundred individuals spoke through means that were beyond the fathoming of mortal minds.
Each of them was a goddess in their own right, deities among their own kind. They communicated through a network of connections that didn't stretch through matter or energy, or even space and time.
But through information itself.
They communicated through a web beyond the visibility of lesser minds. An untraceable, encrypted communication between the leaders of an entire civilization that stretched across a million stars.
"Planet. -oo-o—o-. Has. Stopped. Sending. Daily. Reports. To. The. Web. Of. Authority." One female homoarachnoid spoke with clicks that were distinctly elderly and authoritative. "Analysis. On. The. Web. Reveals. That. The. Flow. Of. Telemetry. From. Planet -oo-o—o-. Has. Also. Completely. Halted. With. No. Prior. Warning."
