Anne McCaffrey - Tower & Hive 5 - The Tower And The Hive

Penguin Putnam Ins". 17T ! hidson Street New York, NY 11)014 I have excellent reason to he particularly grateful to four experts in writing this conclusion of the Talent (aka The Tower and the Hive) series. Dr. Jack Cohen of the University of Warwick and I discussed how I could solve the problem of colonizing Hivers. So I had a structure to begin with. I was dumbfounded to discover that my dictionary had only five lines about the very complex subject of pheromones. The Web came to my assistance and I asked for help, which was quick m coming from Jonathan Brecher and Louis Culot of CambridgeSoft on their special expertise, both as generalists and for specific knowledge about pheromones. We had some lively E-mail exchanges, since Jonathan knew of Lyon's Pride when I approached him for assistance. His colleague Louis Culot supplied additional details. I wish also to thank Bibb Graves from Hewlett Packard Houston for a description of gas chromatographs, which register the strength and composition of pheromones. We extrapolated -- as is the function of science fiction -- that the future would miniaturize what are actually large and cumbersome in-

was first started in 1990. I am indebted to my editor, Susan Allison, and her staff of copyeditors, for their valuable comments and assistance overall.

is sent to occupy the Tower at lota Aungae's new mining planet." There she encounters an intelligence on a distance spaceship, known as Sodan. He tries to lure her into giving him directions to her planet. Her family become suspicious of her enchantment with this "mind" and send her brothers Larak and Afra to divert her. In the ensuing meeting of minds, Larak is killed by a brutal telepathic bolt from Sodan, who is only a mind. Damia and Afra are seriously injured too. While recuperating on Deneb, Damia and Afra are contacted by the "dreams" of the Mrdini. An alien race, they have been fighting the dread spheres of the Hiver queens, who were the invaders which Jeff and the Rowan had thwarted. The Mrdini are exceedingly impressed by the fact that Deneb was able to defeat the attacking Hiver sphere without loss of life. They have been fighting the Hivers for two centuries and only suicide squadrons are able to penetrate and destroy the spheres. In order to cement relations between the two species, Mrdini young are placed with Human young and grow up learning each other's language and culture. Damia's children/ starting with young Lana, each have a pair of Mrdini young.

of Human and Mrdini continues to track down or resist the Hiver incursions. Then three Hiver spheres penetrate League Space and three pursuit squadrons of mixed Human and Mrdini ships are sent after each of the Hiver ships, to track them to their separate destinations. Another group is sent to trace their ion trails back to their planet of origin. In order to continue these searches most effectively, FT&T is asked to supply the flagship of each group with a Prime, or sufficient lesser Talents, to keep m touch with the League Rase and to "receive" additional supplies of food and material on what could be long voyages. Young Thian Raven, Laria s brother, is sent to the I/2z