The integral trees

Option 1: Direct Narrative Rewrite

For generations, the State deployed slower-than-light ramseeders on centuries-long round trips from Earth to prepare star systems for human settlement. Ships carried a mix of citizens and frozen convicts ("corpsicles"), governed absolutely by an integrated cyborg adviser.

This standard pattern broke when the Discipline arrived at the T3/LeVoy's Star binary system. The system contained the "Smoke Ring"—a massive gas cloud orbiting a neutron star with a habitable, zero-gravity atmosphere. It lacked solid land, but sustained a rich ecosystem of edible, airborne life.