ENCOUNTER
Killeen realized abruptly that the thing was alive. Muscles rippled through it. Six sheathed legs curled beneath, ending in huge claws.
And the head—Killeen saw eyes, more than he could count, moving independently on stalks. Beside them microwave dishes rotated. It had telescoping arms socketed in shiny steel. They ended in grappling arrays of opposing pads.
The thing was at least twenty times the size of a human.
That was all Killeen could think before gaping pads clasped him in a rough embrace…
ACCLAIM FOR GREGORY BENFORD’S CLASSIC NOVELS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER
GREAT SKY RIVER
“A challenging, pace-setting work of hard science fiction that should not be missed.”
—Los Angeles Times
“Overwhelming power…irresistible strength.”
—Washington Post Book World
“Hard science fiction at its very best.”
—St. Louis Patch-Dispatch
FURIOUS GULF
“A heady mix of science…and no-holds-barred adventure.”
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ALSO BY GREGORY BENFORD
Fiction
Beyond Infinity
The Martian Race
Eater
The Stars in Shroud
Jupiter Project
Shiva Descending (with William Rostler)
Heart of the Comet (with David Brin)
A Darker Geometry (with Mark O. Martin)
Beyond the Fall of Night (with Arthur C. Clarke)
Against Infinity
Cosm
Foundation’s Fear
Artifact
Timescape
The Galactic Center Series
In the Ocean of Night
Across the Sea of Suns
Great Sky River
Tides of Light
Furious Gulf
Sailing Bright Eternity
Non-fiction
Deep Time: How Humanity Communicates
Across Millennia
Copyright
Copyright © 1989 by Abbenford Associates
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published in arrangement with Bantam Spectra.
Warner Books
ISBN: 978-0-446-56551-6
Hachette Book Group
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New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com
The Aspect name and logo are registered trademarks of Warner Books.
First eBook Edition: October 2009
Contents
ENCOUNTER
ALSO BY GREGORY BENFORD
COPYRIGHT
PART ONE: Abraham’s Star
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
PART TWO: Starswarmer
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
PART THREE: A Matter of Momentum
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
PART FOUR: Such Men Are Dangerous
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
PART FIVE: Skysower
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
EPILOG
SAILING WITH THE TIDE
Chronology of Human Species (Dreaming Vertebrates)at Galactic Center
A HUNGER FOR THE INFINITE
THE HARVESTED
THE HARVESTED
THE COLLECTED
THE COLLECTED
THE COLLECTED
Timeline of Galactic Series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This novel is for two dreamers
who nonetheless get their numbers right:
Charles N. Brown
and
Marvin Minsky
Abraham’s Star
ONE
The Cap’n liked to walk the hull.
It was the only place where he could feel truly alone. Inside Argo there was always the rustle of movement, the rub of humanity kept two years in the narrow though admittedly pleasant confines of a starship.
And worse, when he was inside, someone could always interrupt him. The Family was getting better at leaving him alone in the early morning, he had to give them that. He had carefully built up a small legend about his foul temper just after he awoke, and it was beginning to pay off. Though children might still rush up to him and blurt out a question, lately there had always been an adult nearby to tug the offending youth away.
Killeen disliked using implied falsehoods—he was no more irritable in the morning than at any other time—but it was the only way he could think to get some privacy. So no one hailed him over ship’s comm when he was out here. And of course, no ship’s officer would dare pass through the lock and seek to join him.