Looks to me like a piece of creative imagery. If I had to give the
flavor, it would be: "There is a great Power born from the depths of
time, A Fire Upon The Deep, arising from a hidden and unknown realm in
power and majesty and rebirth."
(A belatedly added note: I do not necessarily approve of this
sentiment, but it does happen to be the emotion I think Vinge was trying
to convey.)
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://tezcat.com/~eliezer/singularity.html
http://tezcat.com/~eliezer/algernon.html
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise specified, I'm not telling you
everything I know.