He reached the border of the village and began to lope across the tundra, his breathing easier. His even pace ate up the silent miles and the sky was barely brighter when he came to the bridge anchor.

The anchor itself was an arch about the height of a man, made of something smooth and milky-white. The structure's original purpose was long forgotten, dating from before the ice. It was unimaginably old.

Now, though, there was a rope tied to the crosspiece. The rope rose from the arch and pierced the clouds, as if it were tethering the sky... but, Teal knew, the rope looped on past the clouds and crossed space to another world.

He approached the anchor past tarpaulined bundles of balloon equipment. Huddled around the arch were five mummy-cows. Humming simple songs they picked at the rope's knots with their articulated trunks.

"Get away from that rope."

The great soft beasts cowered at his voice. In their agitation they bumped together, trembling. Their ears flapped and their food teats wobbled comically.

Finally one of the cows broke out of the group and approached nervously. "Pardon, ssir..."

The cow was a broad fur-covered cylinder supported on stumplike legs. Her rectangular head rotated mournfully around a single ball joint, and plate-sized eyes looked down at Teal. From the center of the blocky face sprouted a bifurcated trunk, and humanlike hands at the ends of the trunk's forks pulled at each other nervously.

The other mummy-cows giggled and whispered.

"Well?"

"Pardon, ssir, but it iss... needed to move the rope today. It is the Su-Sun, ssir..."

"I know about the Sun. Listen to me: I need your help. What's your name?"

"Orange, ssir..."

"Well, Orange, I intend to take up a balloon. Go and fetch the envelope and tackle. You know what that means, don't you?"

"Yess. I often help with flightss. But the Su-Sun will come t-too close today..." The great floppy mouth worked in agitation.

"That's the idea," he snapped. "I don't want to avoid the Sun. I'm going up to it. All right?"

The other mummy-cows, startled, whispered together. He silenced them with a glare, his breath quickening. If they suspected he was here without the knowledge of the rest of the village they wouldn't help him.

But Orange was looking at him steadily. "The Su-Sun is going out, isn't it, s-ssir?"

"You know about that?" Teal asked, surprised.

"We live a long time," said Orange. "Longer than people. Some of us notice things... Today the Su... the Sun is orange. But once it was yellow... in the da-dayss when Allel arrived in the f-first balloon from Home."

The other mummy-cows nodded hugely, pounds of flesh rippling in their cheeks.