She looked again at the pole. “How the hell do they get up these things?”
“Probably use machinery of some sort.”
Crosspieces supported two sets of wires. They were fastened to the top, one above the other. Phyl had told her that the higher wires would probably be the power lines.
“Wait here,” Hutch told him. “Stay out of sight.” She went back to the lander, climbed in, and got some cable out of the storage locker. Then she started the engine and took it up.
“What are you going to do?” Antonio asked.
She’d have preferred to work directly out of the vehicle, but she didn’t think she could get close enough without running into the power lines. Moreover, she’d have to lean pretty far out to make the connection, and it was a long way down.
Funny how perspectives changed when gravity became an issue.
She got above the trees and eased the lander over until she was immediately above the pole. Then she opened the door. Antonio looked up at her. He waved. “Be careful,” he said.
She leaned out and dropped one end of the cable to him. Then she looped the line around the pole so that it was supported by the crosspiece, and dropped the rest. Both ends now lay on the ground.
“It looks like a long climb up,” said Antonio. “I think I should do it.”
“You’re too heavy,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to lift you.”
“Hutch, I’m not excited about this.”
“Me neither, Antonio. I’m open to suggestions.”
“Car coming,” he said.
She saw the lights. Damn. The lander was hanging in midair, silhouetted against the moon. She grabbed the yoke and, with the hatch still open, arced away.
“Hutch, he’s stopping.”
There was no place to hide. She took the vehicle as low as she could and simply kept going.
“It sees you. Getting out of the car.”
“Keep down, Antonio.”
“It’s trying to get a better look. I think you’re out of sight now. The trees are in the way.”
“Let’s hope so.” She was looking for a place to set down, but there was no clearing.
“Uh-oh.”
“What uh-oh?”
“It sees the line.”
“Okay. Just sit tight. We’ve got more cable if we need it.”
“Good.”
“What’s it doing?”
“Just standing there, looking around. That’s a nice-looking car, by the way.”
Hutch finally saw an opening in the foliage and took the lander down. Gently. No noise. “What’s he doing now?”
“Staring at the cable. They’re ugly critters. Wait, there’s another one in the car. They’re talking…Okay, now it’s getting back in. There’s another car coming. From the opposite direction. No, a truck rather. A flatbed.”
“Let me know as soon as they’re clear.”
“Okay.”
She listened to the wind and the insects. Then Antonio was back: “The flatbed’s gone. They’re both gone.”
And she thought, so were the people who’d sent out the interstellars.
She returned to the roadside clearing. It didn’t provide a lot of protection, but as long as no one stopped and put a light into it, the lander was reasonably out of sight. She put the knife in her harness, and the link designed by Phyl, and climbed out. There was grass. It was stiff and spiny, and it crackled underfoot.
Another car passed. When it was gone she tied one end of the cable around her waist, wrapped the other end around a thick tree branch, and gave it to Antonio. In the low gravity, her weight was lower by a quarter. “I’m going to try to walk up the pole,” she said.
He looked at the overhead wires. “I don’t think this is going to work.”
She didn’t feel especially confident either. How long had it been since she’d tried anything remotely like this? Her original idea had been that Antonio would help haul her to the top. But there was a good chance he’d lose his grip on the cable and drop her on her head.
“I just need you to keep me from falling.”
“Okay,” he said. “I think I can manage that.” He pulled the line tight, and she went up a few steps. She was in good physical condition, but it didn’t matter. She wasn’t used to anything like this. Her shoulders began to ache, and the pole was round, so she couldn’t get her feet planted. Meantime, Antonio already had his hands full. “Have to find a better way,” she said.
“I’d agree with that. You can’t work from the lander?”
She looked again at the vehicle, and at the overhead lines. “Maybe we can.”
She took the end of the cable from Antonio, removed it from the branch, and carried it to the lander, where she tied it to one of the skids. Then she returned to the base of the pole, secured the other end to her harness, and called Phyl.
“Yes, ma’am,” said the AI.
“You can see where we are?”
“Yes, Hutch. I have a clear picture of the surroundings.”
“When I tell you, I want you to take the lander up just above the trees. Do it slowly. And keep in mind there’s a line tied to one of the skids, and I’m on the other end of the line.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Good. Okay, take her up.”
Phyl switched on the power, and the lander began to rise. Hutch watched the other end of the cable go up with it. Gradually it lost all slack.
“Now, when I tell you, take it away from the pole. Take it fifteen meters toward the east.” That would prevent the cable from coming loose at the top. “Do it slowly, Phyl.”
The lander hovered above her for a moment. Then it began to move away. The cable tightened and dragged her into the air.
Not very graceful.
She suddenly realized Antonio was taking pictures. “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” she said.
“Priscilla, you look great.”
It hauled her steadily up. She made an effort to walk on the pole, as she’d seen actors do, and athletes. But it was impossible, and in the end she just allowed herself to be carried along and tried to keep herself from turning upside down.
She heard Matt’s laughter from the McAdams. “Smooth,” he said.
When she got to the level of the wires, she told Phyl to stop, planted the grip shoes as firmly as she could against the side of the pole, and used the knife to remove enough of the sheath from one of the wires so that she could see metal. Then she took the link Phyl had devised and clipped it to the line. “Okay,” she told Phyl. “It’s done.”
The link was equipped with a transmitter, so Phyl could listen. “Good,” she said. “We were right. It’s a comm line.”
“Okay. What do we do now?”
“Unless you’re comfortable up there, you might come down. Once you’ve done that, we’ll try to talk to our physicist.”
Matt congratulated her, and she said thanks and wondered why she’d insisted on doing this. Two vehicles rolled by, both going in the same direction, but neither slowed down.
Phyl moved the lander in close, lowering Hutch to the ground, then returned it to the clearing. And they were ready for the great experiment.