>Perhaps. My take on the book, and the Skroderider legends, has been
>that the natural state of the universe corresponds to what I'll call the
>High Transcend, and that the entire system of the Zones is an artifact,
>partly to deal with the Blight, and partly to make sure that budding
>civlizations were protected in the future.
I asked Vinge about this a few years ago, and he confirmed that it had been
his intention that the zones were artificial, created by something that is
to the Powers as the Powers are to us. He added that there is nothing in
the book that depends on this assumption-- it was just one of those
background things writers come up with that don't make it into the book.
--CarlF