[Note: This contains spoilers for /Lord of Castle Black/, and
perhaps /Five Hundred Years After/, if you haven't read that one
either]
Some stuff I noted:
[LoCB, ch 45, pg 142]
The orb began to pulse with a color somewhere between
a pale green and a faint orange ...
This occurs as Zerika is communicating with Sethra Lavode. My inner
nerd said "Aha!".
I think someone was watching das blinkinglights on die aethernetzisch
cardt. The link & transmit transmit lights are almost always green
and amber, and (obviously) blink furiously when data is being
transmitted and received.
This newest version partly reflects reports that the
word 'blinkenlights' is (in 1999) undergoing something
of a revival in usage, but applied to networking equipment.
The transmit and receive lights on routers, activity lights
on switches and hubs, and other network equipment often blink
in visually pleasing and seemingly coordinated ways.
http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/B/blinkenlights.html
The other thing I noticed is more connected to speculation about
whether or not an Orb connection could be forcibly removed by the
Emperor:
[LocB, ch 52, pg 225]
"I have had no sensation of citizenship since my exile."
This is Illista speaking, of course. Now, it is possible that this is
implying that her Orb-link was deliberately severed - although, since
we should consider all possibilities, it may well be that Elde Isle
has Gold & Black Phoenix stone.
Finally, there is this note on Orb connections:
[LocB, ch 57, pg 299]
"[...] though the Orb I have a mental link to some hundreds of
thousands of people, with the number growing each minute. Can
you imagine the difficulty of looking at each one, to see if it
is he with whom I wish to converse?"
I think Zerika's statement makes it as clear as it will ever be why
Tortaalik did not blast Adron remotely, once he knew he was in
rebellion. There may be broadcast routines in the Orb, and possibly
ways to affect individuals who are in its presence (truth detection),
but direct remote effects on a person not well known do not appear to
be feasible - unless that person initiates a connection to the
Emperor, perhaps.
Of course, the Emperor can contact persons he does know well; e.g., he
could summon his Captain of the Guards using the Orb.
I find myself wondering exactly *how* the Orb protects the Emperor.
Why *is* it necessary for people to defend her against Kana's forces?
One possibility is that she is not well versed in using the Orb
offensively. Another is that the Orb only *has* defensive
capabilities, and would allow her to be captured if a more active
defense was not mounted, and direct threats to her life were not being
made. A third, and more subtle possibility, is that the Orb "defends
the Emperor" by manipulating the minds of those who are connected to
it so that they will be willing to give their lives (with the caveat
that some can perhaps resist this manipulation, e.g., Adron). Hmm.