Massan tried to back out of the way, but it was too late. The first chunk of ice bounced harmlessly off his helmet, but the others knocked him off balance so repeatedly that the servos had no chance to recover. He staggered bhndly for a few moments, as more and more ice cascaded down on him, and then toppled off the ledge into the boiling sea.
Relax! he ordered himself. Do not panic! The suit wiu float you. The servos wiU keep you right side up. You annot be kitted accidentally; Odal must perform the coup de grace himself.
There were emergency rockets on the back of the suit. If he could orient himself properly, a touch of the control stud on his belt would set them off and he would be boosted back onto the iceberg. He turned slightly inside the suit and tried to judge the iceberg’s distance through the infrared detector. It was difficult, since the suit was bobbing madly in the churning currents.
Finally he decided to fire the rockets and make final adjustments of distance and landing site while he was in the air.
But he could not move his handHe tried, but his entire right arm was locked fast, He could not budge it a millimeterAnd the same for the left. Something, or someone, was clamping his arms tight. He could not even pull them out of their sleeves.
Massan thrashed about, trying to shake off whatever it was. No use.
Then his detector screen was slowly lifted from the view plate. He felt something vibrating on his helmet. The oxygen tubes! They were being disconnected.
He screamed and tried to fight free. No use. With a hiss, the oxygen tubes pulled free of helmet. Massan could feel the blood pounding through his veins as he fought desperately to free himself.