Starswarm

Starswarm is a 1998 science fiction novel by Jerry Pournelle. The plot revolves around a teenage boy who has grown up on a remote planet used primarily as a research station for its bizarre native life. The boy has been raised by both his "Uncle" Mike and a computerized voice in his head that slowly reveals more and more of his important destiny concerning political control of the planet. The voice helps him understand the significance of the Starswarms, massive plants dwelling in the bottom of the planet's countless shallow lakes. An obvious theme of the book is expressing the thoughts of computer-like entities, such as the boy's "mother" and the lake creatures' alien neural nets.