When the polis Carter-Zimmermann reaches the planet Orpheus in orbit around the star Vega, alien life is found in its oceans.
An attempt for first contact fails, but micro probes sent down reveal their structure to be that of carpets made out of 20,000 unique polysaccarides.
Closer inspection reveals, that the carpets are growing by adding new lines of polysaccarides and that they are resembling Wang tiles.
[3] Rich Horton, writing in the Locus Magazine, compares Egan's other short story "3-adica" to "Wang's Carpets" and calls the latter "one of his very best".
[4] Greg Johnson, writing for the SF Site, states that "the references to 'Gleisner body' and 'physiological model', in the context of Egan's universe, are very revealing" and that "Egan's technical and scientific language works to a double purpose," since "it contributes to the story's worldbuilding and adds to characterization.