While data was trickling in from the recon froggers, the CU closely observed the riftonauts in their semi-transparent atmo-suits scale the mother cable. The five-some of webbers moved with a precision and coordination usually only associated with machines. Their plodding, relentless pace put Renata in mind of space elevator freight containers. While their bodies were encapsulated in silk bubbles, the sensitive pads of their feet were always in contact with the mother cable, sensing and synchronizing with each other's every step.

The apparent simplicity of the bubbles belied their sophistication. The bubble formed a tight seal around the leg sockets and spinnerets, giving them latitude for motion. The used-up air was vented out through a valved tube before it could accumulate in toxic amounts. Fresh oxygen was supplied by grapefruit-sized globules that, when mashed, triggered a gaseous a bio-reaction. Like ascending divers, the riftonauts had to pause at regular intervals to let the pressure equalize; otherwise, they risked not only popping their bubbles but, if their biology was anything like Earth's, having their blood boil from trapped nitrogen.

It took a day and a half for the riftonaut team to reach the top of the mother cable, which was around three hundred meters shy of the surface. Simulations had shown that a team of five could extend the mother cable by about twenty meters per expedition. At a pace of one expedition every couple weeks, they were less than a year away from reaching the surface. From there, it was an eleven mile trek overland to the pounder. What would they make of the alien device? Even more important, how would they respond to coming face to face with the nothingness of the cosmos?