.[8kvq965] ... files are unrelated to a.out.

as ken thompson's paper says
	The object files are binary forms of assembly language,
	similar to what might be passed between
	the first and second passes of an assembler.
they  contain target-dependent code but not precise machine instructions
(the loader makes the final choice of machine instructions).

one nice thing about the scheme is that in the compiler suite
only the loader knows or needs to know
the bit patterns and peculiar properties of the actual machine.