English to French Tech/Engineering Astronomy & Space roman de science-fiction écrit par un astrophysicien

“It was a robot,” Dev said, sitting down on her acceleration couch and idly fingering Zhurat’s uniform. “It would have to be, to glow like that. I’m told some fish in the depths of the ocean have their own natural phosphorescence, but it’s an adaptation to their environment. This angel didn’t need it—nor did it need those wings.”
“Then how did it fly?”
“The same way Foxfire does—gravitic drive. Didn’t you notice how it stayed high enough and far enough away from everyone to avoid killing us all in the drive backwash? When it did flap its wings, the beats were nowhere near fast enough or strong enough to lift something that massive into the sky. Then it hovered for a long time without flapping its wings at all. Given the proper equipment, you could probably build one yourself in a couple of days.”


Roman de science-fiction, dont l'auteur est ingénieur en astrophysique.
Je comprends cela comme étant une action faite par des rétro réacteurs, mais je ne suis pas sure