S1.3: The tiny problem with Hipparchus’ solution

“I’ll tell this bit,” says Masongill, “because I was there.” (In answer to the obvious question from any Smart Alec, he was probably taking the picture below.)

“So Alcock invited Tenbury Wells to lend us their spare Eyelet of Harmony and to show Fabian how to use it. This was a bit difficult because it’s built for the tinies to use – it isn’t at our scale – with small buttons. Also, Fabian doesn’t have any arms, or hands, or fingers. 

“TW explained that he needed to press some of the tiny buttons, check the small blue screen, press down – a quick light touch – on the lever and that should put it into sub-space communication mode to talk to the Think Tank’s own Eyelet of Harmony. 

“To begin with, Fabian tried using his eye-stalks to press the buttons, but that was obviously quite painful. So having had a long careful look at it, he pressed his head very close to it and either with his nose, or his mouth, or his tongue, he must have pressed the buttons in the right combination and ‘twinked’ the lever correctly because there was a tiny ‘plink’ sound and the machine seemed to hum. 

“TW looked at his own box of tricks and said that it was all working and the connection had been made. So Alcock turned to Fabian and said: ‘Now say something.’ 

“And then we all immediately spotted the problem with the plan... 

“Fabian never speaks. I don’t think anyone knows whether he cannot speak and just chooses not to…” 

“I know something about that though it really belongs to a different ‘short’…” Lottie interrupts. 

“Then keep it for that” suggests pTravis. And so Masongill continues: 

“Anyway, a radio, but with a radio operator who doesn’t speak, is never going to work. And so we all went our separate ways. Until…” 

“I had my brilliant idea!!!!” shouts Lottie.