launch it. It was far too large to go down the stairs and needed to be
propelled to a high speed or dropped from a high altitude to become
airborne. Since I had no way of propelling it, I needed to launch it
from the top of the tower, which provided plenty of altitude, but then
the problem of how to remove it from the tower arose. For a moment I was
stumped and almost admitted defeat, but then it came to me.

The tower's only weakness was in its lack of protection against a
deliberate rocking motion. If I was able to swing it back and forth fast
enough by slowly gaining speed and multiplying the momentum, it would be
possible to get it to lean far enough that the dome would snap off,
leaving the room open to the air. This was possible, though rather
unlikely. But I tried anyway.

Starting on one side I began to move from one edge to the other until a
faint rocking motion could be felt. Then I increased my speed in
proportion to the speed of the tower itself. It was a slow start, but
the momentum began to grow, and as it did each successive sway became
faster and faster. Soon it was going so fast that I began to have
unstable footing, the whole tower creaking like a tree that it is blown
by a heavy wind. The speed kept increasing until it reached its fastest,
swooshing to and fro with all of its accumulated force.

It was then that the break happened, for on one of the thrusts the top
snapped off and the upper dome was flung downwards to the ground. As
soon as it was off I shoved the hang-glider with all the force I could
muster towards the edge. At first it fell, but a few feet from the edge
its wings caught the wind and it was brought up to a stable soar, and
just at that instant I landed on it, for I had jumped right after it. I
hit with a thud and felt the craft bounce downwards a little as I hit,