Finding Myriad Thought's true body among the countless Machine Bodies was not difficult for Iax. By pinpointing the data streams, the Servitor quickly passed through β-3's outer structures and reached the depths of the enormous Artificial Planet without obstruction.
The power supply here was gradually failing.
Most compartments and structures lay in darkness. Moisture from some unknown source condensed here, then froze into ice crystals in the low temperatures and fell to the ground, forming thick walls of ice.
"Bzzzt!"
The Cutter activated with a red flash, its thermal beam easily slicing through the thick ice wall. As soon as a few cracks appeared, the heavy wall collapsed down the passage into the darkness farther inside.
"Rumble!"
With multispectral imaging, the Servitor easily found its bearings, using its magnetic devices to anchor itself to what had once been the floor but was now vertical.
Clearly, the Artificial Planet was relying on its own mass to maintain its gravitational structure, turning former floors into walls or ceilings. Its original gravity-balancing devices had perhaps long since lost power or broken down.
The Servitor moved faster and faster, not because of Iax's control, but because gravity was increasing, pulling the Servitor into a headlong rush toward the interior.
Falling chunks of ice battered a broad swath of dents into the compartment at the bend. Damage was faintly visible on the alloy walls beneath the ice.
The Servitor slowly came to a halt before an enormous circular shaft over a hundred meters in diameter.
Thick pipes and cables filled the surrounding area, with electrical arcs flashing intermittently among them.
More numerous still were the shattered metal fragments. Data analysis indicated that most had come from various models of battle-automata.
Gravity here had already risen to fourteen times that at the planet's surface.
Iax controlled