Havelock reaches out, and delicately touches the new edge in the middle of the wall. It is warm, but not nearly as warm as it should be, apparently burned away in a moment by a pulse of light.



"It seems the wisest option," he says, holding the device slightly gingerly to one side.

He has no desire to see what it does to a living creature. Apart from a few moments entirely scientific consideration, which he has now sternly put from his mind.

"Perhaps we can pull the chest in front of it to mask the hole from this side.