There's a woodpecker trapped in my scanner

At least, that's what it sounds like.

It could be that the galley of China Mieville's _Kraken_ that I'm trying to read is possessing my hardware--Lovecraftian giant squid gods are like that.

Or it could be that scanners have extremely short lifespans once they are introduced into the habitat of the aerye.

Let's see if I can finish _Kraken_ before this scanner goes belly up.