Location, location
This story's Thingummy, the hot marble, is a neural network, a recording of the gravitational resonance pattern of Earth relative to the planet Lanthra (Horizon). Today, these silicon sensors truly exist, except they are being used as interferometers, to get out "white noise" so scientists can focus on what they are trying to locate. In the future, these may be storage records of specific places in space to make observation and travel easier. Here is how it works, in part: Trace elements in silicon, once "strummed," vibrate. Patterns of the vibration provide a map. The marble's spin glass's internal flow currents account for the ever-moving relative positions of Earth and Lanthra. To add complexity, not only the electronic structures of atoms may be involved in the recording, but the nuclear structures of each atom may account for the resonance template being stored. Just a little explanation for the book title. The link at "current conversati...