"Can't they do it on a planet?" asked Orfall sadly.
"Not unless they can raise the whole planet to a high negative charge," snapped Sandra. "What do you think?"
"I don't know—none of us do. Can they?"
"No."
"Then—?"
"We'll call them, tell McBride what's the matter and what we need. He'll fix it."
"It sounds like a fool's gesture to me," said Theodi.
"Utterly impossible. How are we going to get in touch with them in the first place?"
"Look," said Theodi. "We can call them. See what McBride says and put the problem to them. If there's a way out, fine. If not, we've lost nothing."
"But how are we going to call them over nine light-years of space?"