[quote]The spider city states operate a variety of mining concerns, but they themselves do not dig. They have insects for that: one of the tasks that comes more naturally to the ant colonies they use in so many different ways. For centuries there has been enough for all, since spider technology is not metal heavy, and the organic chemicals more important to them are fabricated from the common building blocks of life itself. 

This is where it starts. [/quote] 

[color=silver][indent][indent]— Adrian Tchaikovsky, [i]Children of Time[/i][/indent][/indent][/color]