Cutting with a stop rule
The cutter works at North Spur’s ice face with a head, legs, sensors, lights, and an isolated recorder. It is built for a specific excavation task, not for a human shape or a general purpose.
A clean stop protects the worksite when the machine meets a condition outside its authority. The crew preserves the stream, compares instruments, and decides whether any next movement is safe.
Equipped for the work.
Find this in the novel: Chapters 1.