He soared, first a bit awkwardly, then more and more gracefully. First just a bit above the bluff and then higher and higher over the ocean. Into dives then out to barrel rolls and loops. The new wing was more maneuverable than any earlier design. Higher. The wing was incredible. From three hundred feet over the bluff he could see the coast for one hundred miles and the endless ocean. Freedom, elation, higher.
It is time, he said to himself. Cherry looked straight down. It was late afternoon. He had been in the air for three hours. Slowly he nosed over and folded the wing back into a missile, gravity shooting him ever faster toward the earth. The speed was terrific. The pressure of the wind on his eyes seemed to be ripping them apart. Tears squished out and shot across his face and temple
