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Hector observed the object in Abbas' hand another time. It seemed to just be a hunk of metal, yet Abbas was still fiddling with it even while they talked.

The Lord Saqqaf took notice and held it up more easily for Hector to see. "The central processing unit for the suit's cerebral implants. Fixing it has been an exercise in tedium."

Cerebral implants? What the heck? "Er... what's wrong with it?" asked Hector.

"It was crawling with nanoscopic saboteurs," said Abbas. "I managed to contain them, but removing them has been akin to picking lice out of my son's hair one by one. If only there was a solution as quick as shaving him bald."

Nanoscopic? The more he talked to this guy, the more Hector felt like he was out of his depth here.

'You're talking about nanomachines?' said Garovel, sounding truly shocked. 'Used by Morgunov?'

"Indeed. Quite the obnoxious little things. I would have liked to study them, at the very least, but it appears they have some sort of built-in self-destruct mechanism whenever they are 'caught.' How the old thu'ban managed that, I do not fully know. Perhaps it is something to do with their proximity to one another, but I have tried catching them in groups and yet they still annihilate themselves, so that cannot be the only trigger." The man broke for a sigh. "I dread to think that he could have actually harnessed the observer effect at a quantum mechanical level, but that may be exactly what he did. Haqq Najir has been studying them around the clock and trying to learn more, though I am not hopeful for his findings."

Yeah, okay, wow, Hector felt pretty stupid after listening all of that and retaining almost none of it. He could at least pick out the name Haqq Najir, though. "How long do you think it will take you to repair your armor?"