they
will produce a landslip on the cliff edge, using power tools and
explosives carried for the purpose. That is why the hopper has a crew
of three, but the chance of their having to do this is slight."

So I should think; ground appearances are supposed to show that
_Gilgamesh_ landed using emergency rockets and then toppled over the
cliff and this will be exactly what happened.

"The pilot will carry a one-frequency low-power transmitter activated
by the change in magnetic field on leaving the ship. The hopper will
remain at five hundred feet until this signal is received. It will
then pick up the pilot, check ground appearances, and rendezvous with
this ship at two hundred miles up at 18.27 hours."

The ship and the hopper both being radar-absorbent will not register
on alarm systems, and by keeping to planetary nighttime they should
be safe from being seen.

"Danger (b) will be dealt with as follows. The rocket-mounts being of
peltathene will be destroyed by half an hour's immersion in water. The
installations in the nose will be destroyed with Andite."

Andite produces complete colecular disruption in a very short range,
hardly any damage outside it; the effect will be as though the nose
broke off on impact; I suppose the Incognitans will waste a lot of
time looking for it on the bed of the sea.

"Four ten-centimeter cartridges will be inserted within the nose
installations. The fuse will have two alternative settings. The first
will be timed to act at 12.50 hours, seven minutes after the estimated
time of landing. It will not be possible to deactivate it before 12.45
hours. This takes care of the possibility of the pilot's becoming
incapacitated during the descent.

"Having switched off the first fuse the pilot will get the ship into
position and then activate a second, timed to blow in ten minutes. He
will then leave the ship. When the antigrav is destroyed the ship
will, of course, fall into the sea.

"Six. The pilot of _Gilgamesh_ will wear a spacesuit of the pattern
used by the original crew and will carry Personal Background Set
number 23. Should he fail to escape from the ship the crew of the
hopper will on no account attempt to rescue him."

The colonel takes up the paper, folds it in half and puts it down one
inch further away.

"The hopper's crew," he says, "will give the whole game away should
one of them fall into Incognitan hands, alive or dead. Therefore they
don't take any risks of it."