ican method of
propulsion was known as "_rocketing_." The _rocket_ is what I would
describe, from my 20th Century comprehension of the matter, as an
extremely powerful gas blast, atomically produced through the
stimulation of chemical action. Scientists of today regard it as a
childishly simple reaction, but by that very virtue, most economical and
efficient.

But tomorrow, she explained, she would go back to work in the cloth
plant, where she would take charge of one of the synthetic processes by
which those wonderful substitutes for woven fabrics of wool, cotton and
silk are produced. At the end of another two weeks, she would be back on
military duty again, perhaps at the same work, or maybe as a "contact
guard," on duty where the territory of the Wyomings merged with that of
the Delawares, or the "Susquannas" (Susquehannas) or one of the half
dozen other "gangs" in that section of the country which I knew as
Pennsylvania and New York States.

Wilma cleared up for me the mystery of those flying leaps which she and
her assailants had made, and explained in the following manner, how the
inertron belt balances weight:

"_Jumpers_" were in common use at the time I "awoke," though they were
costly, for at that time _inertron_ had not been produced in very great
quantity. They were very useful in the forest. They were belts,
strapped high under the arms, containing an amount of inertron adjusted
to the wearer's weight and purposes. In effect they made a man weigh as
little as he desired; two pounds if he liked.

"_Floaters_" are a later development of "_jumpers_"--rocket motors
encased in _inertron_ blocks and strapped to the back in such a way that
the wearer floats, when drifting, facing slightly downward. With his
motor in operation, he moves like a diver, headforemost, controlling his
direction by twisting his body and by movements of his outstretched arms
and hands. Ballast weights locked in the front of the belt adjust weight
and lift. Some men prefer a few ounces of weight in floating, using a
slight motor thrust to overcome this. Others prefer a buoyance balance
of a few ounces. The inadvertent dropping of weight is not a serious
matter. The motor thrust always can be used to descend. But as an extra
precaution, in case the motor should fail, for any reason, there are
built into every belt a number of detachable sections, one or more of
which can be discarded to balance off any loss in weight.

"But who were