agentdz015
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 1, 2007
- Messages
- 1
A few years ago I read a wonderful sci fi short story I'm trying to remember the name/author of. I recall the story being in an anthology of some sort, and that it was 20 or so pages... of course any of this could be a bit off... Perhaps you can help me - extra points if you can tell me a book it was published in.
The story, as I recall it, went like this....
Miners were collecting resources from the asteroid belt. One stumbled upon a cave in an asteroid, and there, frozen in the emptyness of space, was an alien body - frozen for millions of years. On the walls of the cave were written, in hastily drawn pictures, was recorded the history of the alien's civilization.
The alien society had expanded into the gallaxy using probes. A probe would set out into space and, after thousands of years, it would find a world. It would then collect resources and duplicate itself, and the many probes would terraform the plannet. It would then clone life for the planet - in its database was the stored DNA and recorded knowledge of the alien's society.
Later, that society had sent out other probes - ones to explore and repliate themselves. Even to harvest the energy of stars... but after eons, the probes were getting too dense. They had replicated too far, and so hunter probes had to be created. They would lie in wait and listen for radio signals from target probes. When heard, they would go find them and dismantle them.
It was a wonderful story because it felt so ancient and complex - about finding a balance between exploration and exloitation in a universe where faster-than-light travel is not possible.
Well - enough rambling. Thanks for your help everyone!
The story, as I recall it, went like this....
Miners were collecting resources from the asteroid belt. One stumbled upon a cave in an asteroid, and there, frozen in the emptyness of space, was an alien body - frozen for millions of years. On the walls of the cave were written, in hastily drawn pictures, was recorded the history of the alien's civilization.
The alien society had expanded into the gallaxy using probes. A probe would set out into space and, after thousands of years, it would find a world. It would then collect resources and duplicate itself, and the many probes would terraform the plannet. It would then clone life for the planet - in its database was the stored DNA and recorded knowledge of the alien's society.
Later, that society had sent out other probes - ones to explore and repliate themselves. Even to harvest the energy of stars... but after eons, the probes were getting too dense. They had replicated too far, and so hunter probes had to be created. They would lie in wait and listen for radio signals from target probes. When heard, they would go find them and dismantle them.
It was a wonderful story because it felt so ancient and complex - about finding a balance between exploration and exloitation in a universe where faster-than-light travel is not possible.
Well - enough rambling. Thanks for your help everyone!
