THE MECHANISM THAT ARIANE HAD SUMMONED WAS CALLED A Thor. It consisted of a big rock—the head of a god-sized maul—with a very long and lightweight "handle" capable of reaching all the way to the surface even while the "head" was just grazing the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The whole thing spun like a thrown hammer, which was to say that the long handle flailed in a large circle around the head.