Free The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton

replied. ‘Why? Are the sample modules screwing with the tree?’
    She pressed down on a smile. ‘No.’
    ‘Signal bandwidth is reducing significantly,’ Ayanna warned. ‘Ibu, you’re moving into some serious interference. Is there anything different inside the
crystal?’
    ‘No. But I can see the globes now. It’s like . . . hell. I can’t—’
    Even though her eyelids were closed, Laura wanted to squint. She could just make out the dark globes that were melded with the crystal. Riding Ibu’s optics was a portal into a world of
shadow upon shadow.
    ‘What’s happening?’ Rojas asked urgently.
    ‘Nothing,’ Ibu said. ‘I just can’t use my ESP on these things, is all. It’s like they’re shielded, the way we learned to protect our thoughts. But
they’re really wonderful. I know it.’
    ‘You mean they’re alive?’ Laura asked in alarm.
    ‘I’m not sure.’
    ‘His heart rate’s really building,’ Ayanna warned.
    Laura saw him gliding up close. The image fuzzed, then stabilized. It was very hard to see anything now, just shades of dark grey. The lighter outline of Ibu’s arm slid across the image,
reaching towards one of the globes.
    ‘Going to – make out – holding ste—’
    The image vanished completely. For a second there was just some basic telemetry, then that too ended.
    ‘Rojas?’ Ayanna said. ‘Do you have visual on Ibu?’
    ‘Just. He’s close to the globes. I think—’
    Ibu’s link came back up. It was weak, Laura’s u-shadow reported. Voice circuit only.
    ‘. . . fucking thing . . . doesn’t . . . can’t . . . hell . . . really, really can’t . . .’
    ‘What’s happening?’ Ayanna demanded. ‘Ibu?’
    ‘Stuck. It’s stuck . . . all round . . . every finger . . .’
    ‘What?’ Laura asked. ‘Ibu, your visual is down. We can’t see anything. What has stuck?’
    ‘. . . Laura, its . . . molecul . . . my hand . . . fucking hand . . . can’t move it . . .’
    ‘Crap,’ Laura grunted. ‘Ibu, is your hand stuck? Is that what’s happened?’
    ‘. . . yes . . . yes . . . yes, fucker’s got me – Solid but . . . Shit, shit, nothing . . . cutting . . . free it . . .’
    Ayanna gave Laura a worried look. ‘What’s going to happen if he cuts into that thing?’
    ‘I don’t bloody know!’
    ‘Ibu, be careful,’ Ayanna said.
    ‘. . . gotta be fuc—’ Ibu snarled.
    ‘Just get your hand clear,’ Laura told him. An auxiliary display showed her the exopod was moving.
    ‘Rojas, what are you doing?’ Ayanna asked.
    ‘The man needs some help,’ Rojas replied calmly.
    ‘Can you give us a visual feed?’ Laura asked. She unfastened the couch’s straps and airswam until she was right up against the windscreen. The exopod’s strobes were still
flashing reassuringly against the pale waves of light slithering through the tree’s crystal.
    ‘Exopod’s signal’s reducing,’ Ayanna warned.
    ‘Ibu, can you hear me?’ Laura asked.
    ‘. . . isn’t . . .’ Ibu’s distorted voice said.
    Ayanna started typing on one of the console keyboards. ‘Lost his signal.’
    ‘I see him,’ Rojas said. ‘Looks like a hand and a knee are touching the globe surface. Definitely sticking to it.’
    ‘Just get him off the damn thing!’ Ayanna said. ‘What kind of cutters have you got on the exopod?’
    ‘Don’t worry; the powerblade can cut through monobonded carbon fibre. This isn’t going to be any problem.’
    ‘Can you get close enough to use it?’ Laura asked.
    ‘It’s detachable . . . if I need to . . . easily done . . .’
    ‘No, no, no,’ Laura exclaimed as her u-shadow showed her the exopod’s signal strength reducing sharply. She hit the windscreen angrily, and had to hurriedly grab a couch as the
blow sent her flailing backwards through the air.
    ‘. . . that’s really awesome . . .’ Rojas’s voice had taken on a reverential tone. ‘. . . going to go out . . . with him . . .’
    Ayanna’s body stiffened. ‘Rojas? Rojas, don’t leave