49

You focus on the top of the outcrop, and at first you see nothing untoward. Then, about a minute later, a puff of smoke issues from the rock, as if a bullet has smacked into its surface. Patiently you watch the outcrop, half-expecting something else to happen. You do not have to wait very long: within a few minutes there is a rumbling noise, like the sound of distant thunder, and several giant cracks appear in the outcrop. Suddenly a whole section gives way and hundreds of tons of rock come tumbling down the mountainside.

You watch open-mouthed as the landslide spills out across the freeway, blocking the lanes in both directions. Rickenbacker tugs at your sleeve and suggests that you turn around and drive back to the colony as fast as you can. Numbly you nod your head and reach out to restart the engine.

Turn to 112.