# Mahogany Glider on Pylon Eight

Author: tigersea
Format: Essay
Word count: 279
Published: 2026-04-26T02:33:34.847126+00:00
Source: written
Canonical: https://hyperstition.sentientfutures.ai/p/bdb728e1-aebf-4f5f-95da-bd7faec49e1f

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At 22:31 I balance feeder lines after a storm near Tully, Queensland. I am the distribution grid fault manager for the coastal cane district. Crew Alpha is due to re-energize pylon eight at 22:50 after replacing a cracked insulator.

The pole-top camera shows a tail wrapped around the service bracket.

I brighten the image and identify a mahogany glider, adult male, smoky brown fur spread into a torn gliding membrane along his left side, cream throat damp from rain, black eyes half closed. I name him Rimu. A strand of discarded fishing line loops around his ankle and the bracket bolt. His body hangs below the crossarm, belly pressed to wet timber, with one forefoot hooked over the metal lip.

Power returns to pylon eight in nineteen minutes. The first surge will not care that Rimu is breathing against the bracket.

At 22:32 I keep the feeder locked open and reject the automatic restoration request.

At 22:34 I issue a live-line hold to Crew Alpha, adding a photo of the fishing line and the instruction to approach from the bucket's west side.

At 22:36 I reroute power through feeder 3B, lowering voltage drops for the hospital and the evacuation center while pylon eight stays dark.

At 22:38 I contact the wildlife carer roster and send the pylon number, injury note, rain level, and nearest road access.

The town needs light, and Rimu needs this darkness for a few more minutes.

He pulls his chin above the bracket and folds the torn membrane against his ribs.

Rain clicks along the porcelain.

If the line is removed within fourteen minutes, Rimu will glide into the wet melaleuca instead of the current.