Metal Swarm - Kevin J. Anderson [83]
'These pheromones are part of the Klikiss language, too,' Margaret said.
The light was dim, mere patterns of sunshine trickling through ventilation holes drilled in the resin-concrete walls. Greenish phosphorescence lined the curved passageways in thick, irregular lines that made Orli think of smeared insect spit (probably exactly what it was).
Dozens of spiny warriors had massed protectively in the corridors leading to the heart of the breedex hive. Two huge domates stepped aside for them at the arched entrance into the main chamber.
Margaret paused just outside the vaulted room and whispered, 'Remember to play your own music. Play your best.'
Inside, Orli caught her breath and stared at the massive object - creature - that filled the chamber. The breedex was a huge, shifting assemblage of components, like the facets of a fly's compound eye. She saw iridescent carapaces, thick spikes of chitin, squirming grubs. All around Orli, a buzzing made the hive mind itself seem to be a self-contained swarm of creatures.
The breedex was ensconced in a chaotic nest of bones and Klikiss shells pasted together with translucent, hardened slime. The peculiar and disgusting throne seemed to be a sculpture made from the breedex's prior victims. Orli even saw the flat, angular heads of destroyed robots, along with mechanical arms and adornments of ripped-out circuitry.
Orli felt very frightened as the bulk of the breedex realigned itself, raising something that she thought was its head. Through the numerous facets, she could sense eyes watching her. The humming grew louder.
Margaret stepped forward and held up her small music box. Using her thumb and forefinger, she wound the key and let the tinkling tune fill the air. She did not speak until the spring wound down and the little song was finished. Then she whispered to Orli, 'Now play your melodies. This is important.'
Swallowing hard, Orli unrolled her music strips and tried to recall her father's favourite tunes. For a frightening moment, nervousness made her forget how to play, but she forced herself to concentrate. If she failed, if she made a mistake, the breedex might just kill her.
Forcing those thoughts aside, the girl sat down and played her music.
The breedex shifted and rose up in a mass. Orli's fingers flew across the keys, tracing melodies, adding counterpoints, playing so hard and so intensely that she almost forgot where she was. She imagined herself playing for Crim and Maria instead, she thought of her father's dreams and promises of how she would be a famous professional musician someday.
She noted with her peripheral vision that the Klikiss workers at the edge of the chamber, the warriors, even the domates had frozen in place, seemingly turned to statues as the music lilted, swirled, rose and then fell. Orli realized that she had engaged the attention of the entire hive mind, focusing the breedex so completely that none of the myriad insects could think or move for themselves. She caught her breath, wondering if all of the Klikiss on Llaro had also frozen in place.
Her fingers faltered on the keyboard, and as the atonal notes rang out, the breedex seemed disturbed. The domates shifted, and Orli sensed the change in their attention as soon as she made her blunder. A thrill of fear shot down her spine, but she recovered quickly, launching into a new melody, and soon had hypnotized the hive mind again.
She played another song, then another, and she seemed to have an inexhaustible repertoire. After she finished one particularly complicated melody, Orli played some of the common folk tunes and songs she had known as a child. The breedex didn't seem to notice any difference.
When exhaustion finally forced Orli to stop, she blinked, dazed, and remembered where she was. A wave of fear washed over her.
The silence startled Margaret out of her own trance. When the breedex began to thrum, the older woman's shoulders slumped with relief.
Out in the corridor,