With a grin he began going along the track, feeling his way through the dark as he twisted the parallel safety tripwires together every few feet, making certain they shorted.
"Well, we don't have time to tinker with it now," Ramirez declared, feeling his pique growing. "There's only a problem if it's a malfunction of the motors, and they don't report a problem." He pointed down to the console. "So just switch it over to manual."
Helling stirred uneasily. "I'm not sure it's such a good idea to override the safety system. We don't know—"
"When I'm in need of your views, I'll ask for them." Ramirez cut him off. "Now go to manual and get on with it."
Wolf Helling was a risk-taker, but only when he knew the downside. If the gantry motors shut down, he figured there probably was a reason.
On the other hand, the first device already had been loaded onto VX-1, all systems checked, the preflight punch lists taken care of. Maybe it was better to go ahead and keep Ramirez's mind at ease rather than worry too much about the technicalities. After all, unanimity was as important as perfection.
"If you say so," he declared finally. "But it's risky. I take no responsibility for this."
He flipped the gantry control motors to override and shoved the operating lever forward. . . .