Translation number 11 (week eleven):

     “Have you ever heard of dust corrosion?”   asked Shevtsov, and, not waiting for an answer, continued, “It all began with that…”

     Among the many dangers of interstellar space was one—unseen, deadly.   They call it—not very precisely—“Black Dust.”

     The routes of the star-ships were laid out to avoid large dust accumulations.   To travel through a cloud of interstellar dust at sublight speed was impossible.   The dust was abrasive to the metal and would tear it away atom by atom, cleanly devouring the ship.   Like pygmy ants will eat the carcass of a wild boar right down to the bones…On the maps of interstellar space these dust clouds are clearly marked.   We can observe them from earth.   They stand out as dark spots against the backdrop of the starry skies.

     But now and then we run across other dust accumulations, less dense, less noticeable.   Just like a bird-of-prey awaiting a victim, they lurk in the gloom of interstellar space, giving no sign to indicate their presence.   Having fallen into such a cloud, a ship would certainly perish.