>Y'know, with as much...well, not flippancy, but lack of description of
>the sheer scope as the Dyson Sphere gets in FI, this certainly
>restores the sheer sense of awe.

If so, then I've been successful in my intentions for this piece of Reunion. Glad to oblige! :)

>I don't know how, but somehow through
>the entirety of it, I forgot that there are two ENTIRE PLANETS inside
>it.

Well, it helps that for the most part, the majority of people and readers view the Dyson Sphere from the perspective of the New Avalon Psuedocontinent. It's like being an ant, whose only perception of the picnic table is the plate with the sandwiches on it. You don't notice the scale and scope of the rest of the table, nevermind the beach ball being tossed around over it.

>And they're rattling around like olives in Mylene's salad bowl
>analogy.

... now I have images of the first days of the New Avalon school system. Whereas most kids would try and make a scale model of the Solar System (usually with teacher assistance -- there's lots of 'scale walking model' solar systems out there, google 'em!), doing one for Zeta Cygni's Dyson Sphere would be somewhat... different. They'd probably try to use an Earthball, two peas for the planets, and a handful of sand for the asteroid belt.

Though that probably wouldn't be accurate enough. They'd probably do better using the sphere in the Rose Center for Earth and Space as the representation of the Dyson Sphere. But the planets and asteroid belt would be the same...

>If the thing's emergence was a shock, this story just hits on
>how FREAKING BIG it is. And Xeralia's comments makes me wonder where
>they found this thing.

Where indeed...

>And yet, I can't keep the grin off my face from that last bit with
>Komilla. Because an astronomically immense technological marvel can't
>compare.

That section, to me, is one of my most satisfactory pieces of writing to date. It's the payoff for Patience. Everything else is just icing. ^_^

	Philip J. Moyer Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios "But you gotta admit, it's one heck of a cake! :) "