The engineer showed her with his hands, pulling imaginary levers in the air. “Whole-body experience—they’ve had the immersion drill. Y’see, pressin’ the left-hand stick forward, that causes the Lifter to pitch forward some. See?”

Chen and Fraq were taking off in their trials, flying short loops, with the techs giving them plenty of room. They dangled a meter above the meadow, engines howling. Chen moved her left lever and the jet pack began advancing level with the ground. Techs trotted alongside, like parents teaching a child to ride a bicycle without training wheels. Chen managed well, weaving and getting the feel of it. So did Fraq.

Bulges on Chen’s back were safety features, a ballistic parachute with a small explosive charge for rapid deployment. At her feet were platform shock absorbers like pogo sticks, to soften landings.

Rachel saw how mass distribution ensured stabilization. The weight of the engines and pilot body sat lower than the rotors, creating a pendulum effect. That, she could see, discouraged the contraption from tipping upside down. It was essentially a rocket pack, requiring the wearer to steer by tilting their body around and deploying stubby, winged appendages on arms and legs.

If that failed, Chen would become a lawn dart.

Rachel said, “It looks so… easy.”

Grinning, the engineer watched Chen and Fraq rise to a hundred meters above them, weaving and flying with precision, perhaps even joy. The low air pressure helped. He said, “Y’know, people come up and look and go, ‘Is it safe?’ Ha!” He laughed amiably, and she found herself liking his bemused smile. “Safety is about percentages. Goin’ this far up, clear to Everest, well… But this alien, he wants it, right?”

Rachel looked at him, his big tanned face wrenched up into the sky as if trying to see something there. “Why is everybody making this happen?” she asked.

“We wanna help this guy. He came here from some other damn star. Gotta give him what he wants, right?”

4.

“You don’t like me, do you?” Chen had said straight out.

Rachel first thought of lying, then shrugged. “Correct.”

“I could tell the moment I walked in.”

“Perceptive.”

“And it’s because I’m doing what you’re afraid of.”

Rachel shook her head. “No, it’s visceral.”

“Then why didn’t you accept Fraq’s invitation?”

“Invitation? Wrong word. Fraq takes you through a dance, and if you follow his lead in that Byzantine formalism, you end up entangled. I figured out how to say no. You didn’t.”

Chen bristled. “I think you’re a coward.”

Rachel enjoyed smiling. “And I think you’re a fool. You are, you know. When you face what this crazy ascent really means, you’ll see that.”

“I’ll discount that since it comes from a coward. You are, you know.”

“Touché! You didn’t volunteer for that bungee jump to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, did you?”

Chen blinked. “No, I wasn’t asked.”

“That woman got pretty banged up, smacking into that spire on the rebound.”

“I—I heard.”

“Then there was that descent from a mountaintop by flying kites. Another Seeker of Script, as I recall. Broken back.”